For the first time in its 28 years of existence, the home of Leganes has changed its name. The club surprised the fans by making the news public without ever mentioning that they were looking for a naming rights sponsor. A large part of the fanbase is very disappointed with the change, which they see as an attack on the club's identity.

Butarque is now Ontime

Last Wednesday, Leganés announced something that nobody expected: the logistics company Ontime, until now the club's main sponsor, took over the naming rights of the Pepinero stadium until 2029. Thus, Estadio Municipal de Butarque was renamed Estadio Ontime Butarque.

According to the statement, representatives of the club and the sponsor signed the agreement on July 24. This alliance is the most important commercial agreement in the history of C.D. Leganés, the board assures, promising to present the agreement to the public in September. You, however, don’t have to wait until September to get domain names with IONOS for your website. Register your domain with IONOS and benefit from comprehensive features.

The change of Butarque’s name would have been impossible without the stadium concession, signed in February. The duration of the agreement is 50 years - until 2075 - and, as explained by Carlos Delgado Pulido, deputy mayor, the change of name is a right of the concessionaire as long as the name “Butarque” is respected.

© groundhopping.se | Butarque’s current capacity is 13,089 seats.

Fans oppose the new name

The announcement was not well received by most of the fanbase, which filled the club's social networks with complaints. Mixing the name of the saint patron of the town of Leganés with a private company. We've definitely hit rock bottom, says one X user, referring to the Virgin Mary of Butarque, after whom Estadio Municipal de Butarque is named. Hey, that's no good, don't take away a part of our identity, protested another.

The protest was also joined by the local socialist party, PSOE, which denounced agreements behind the back of Leganés and without taking into account club members and fans, warning that the mayor cannot sell Leganés like this.

For the moment, we don't know the details of the agreement, but there are fans who are happy that the club has found a new source of income. For once, I think it's very good what they've done, it looks like a great deal and that's what all important clubs do, praised one fan. At least they have respected the name of our patron, which is the most important, agrees another.

© groundhopping.se | CD Leganes will play the 2025/26 season in Segunda División.