Estadi Cornella-El Prat, also known as the RCDE Stadium is the home ground of RCD Espanyol, one of the three Catalan clubs in the Spanish top flight. It is located between the towns of Cornella and El Prat in the comarca of Baix Llobregat, just south of Barcelona, and hence the name Estadi “Cornella-El Prat”.
It has been serving as the home ground of Espanyol since its opening in 2009, who moved from their old home stadium Estadi de Sarria albeit indirectly, as they played at the Estadio Olimpico Lluis Companys between 1997 and 2009.
Estadi Cornella-El Prat Stadium Capacity
RCDE Stadium is the most modern football stadium in Catalonia and has been awarded a four star by UEFA. It has a capacity of 40,500 with 1507 VIP seats, 133 press seats, 3278 parking spaces, 27 bars and 24 radio booths.
It was the winner of the “Venue of the Year” and was awarded the Stadium Business Award on 18th June 2010, thanks to its ecological solutions of low energy and water consumption alongside solar power energy.
The local club supporters have moved for the stadium to be renamed after their club captain Daniel Jarque, who died of a heart attack in 2009, but are yet to receive a response.
History
Plans for the construction of the RCDE Stadium were tendered in 2002, with the ceremonial stone being laid in 2003. However, it took until 2005 for the actual construction to start and took more than three years to finish in July 2009.
The stadium was built as a private investment of RCD Espanyol and the entire project cost was estimated to be €75 million, despite the budget being set at €60 million.
The stadium was formally opened on 2nd August 2009 and the first match was played between RCD Espanyol and Liverpool, which the Catalans won 3-0.
Controversy
Club supporters at the RCDE Stadium are not the most welcoming, and have been reported of racial abuses multiple times.
In 2015, the Barcelona derby was marred by racist chants aimed towards the Brazilian duo of Dani Alves and Neymar. Jibes were also directed towards Gerard Pique and his partner Shakira. La Liga denounced the abuse and opened an investigation, but nothing constructive came out of it.
There were similar instances in 2010 and 2012, as the Espanyol supporters made monkey chants every time Dani Alves touched the ball, who infamously ate a banana thrown at him in a game against Villareal in 2014.
Again, in April 2017, the likes of Messi and Neymar were cursed with the latter being tagged “Favela” to downgrade him as being nothing more than a poor boy from the Brazilian slums.
Recent Matches
With RCD Espanyol’s failure to qualify for European competitions in recent years, the RCDE Stadium has only hosted La Liga and Copa Del Rey matches.
