Stage Front Stadium

RCDE Stadium
Cornellà-El Prat
Map
Full nameRCDE Stadium
Former namesCornellà-El Prat
(2009–2014)
Power8 Stadium
(2014–2016)
RCDE Stadium
(2016–2023)
LocationCornellà and El Prat, Barcelona, Spain
Coordinates41°20′52″N 2°4′32″E / 41.34778°N 2.07556°E / 41.34778; 2.07556
OwnerEspanyol
OperatorEspanyol
Executive suites44
Capacity40,000[1]
Record attendance40,240 (Espanyol vs Real Madrid CF; 13 February 2011)
Field size105 m × 68 m (344 ft × 223 ft)
SurfaceGrass
Construction
Broke ground9 May 2003
Built9 May 2005
Opened2 August 2009
Construction cost€60 million
ArchitectMark Fenwick, Javier Iribarren (Reid Fenwick Asociados) and Esteban Gasulla (Gasulla Arquitectura y Gestió)
Project managerJacques Coltard
Structural engineerIndus
Services engineerPGI Group
General contractorFCC Construcción i Copisa
Tenants
RCD Espanyol (2009–present)
Cornellà (2022–present)
Spain national football team (selected matches)
Girona (2024–25; UEFA matches)

RCDE Stadium, also known as Estadi Cornellà-El Prat (Catalan pronunciation: [əsˈtaði kuɾnəˈʎa əl ˈpɾat]; Spanish: Estadio Cornellà-El Prat [esˈtaðjo koɾneˈʎa el ˈpɾat]), is an all-seater football stadium on the outskirts of Cornellà de Llobregat and El Prat de Llobregat, in the wider Barcelona urban area (Catalonia, Spain). It took three years to build and cost approximately 60 million. Opened in August 2009, it was awarded as Venue of the Year at the Stadium Business Awards on 18 June 2010 in Dublin.[2][3]

With a capacity of 40,000 seats,[4] it is the tenth-largest stadium in Spain and the third-largest in Catalonia. It became the home of RCD Espanyol in 2009, replacing their previous stadium, the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys, being the eighth stadium in the club's history.

It is one of the potential host stadiums for the 2030 FIFA World Cup.

History

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The stadium is known as the Estadi Cornellà-El Prat because it is located on the borders of the municipalities Cornellà and El Prat. The club hopes to find a buyer for the naming rights for the stadium.

Espanyol defeated Liverpool 3–0 in the stadium's inaugural match on 2 August 2009.[5]

After the death of club captain Daniel Jarque on 8 August 2009, just six days after the inaugural match, it was proposed that the stadium should be renamed in his honour.[6] However, the club has not taken a definite stance on the subject.[7]

In July 2014, the stadium was renamed as Power8 Stadium for sponsorship reasons.[8] It was discovered that Power8 was an investment fraud which duped 100s of Asian investors, organised by Bryan Cook and Thomas Yi of London Capital. In January 2016, the club renamed the stadium as RCDE Stadium ending the sponsorship of Power8.[9]

In June 2023, Espanyol and American ticketing technology company Stage Front reached a sponsorship agreement to rename the Espanyol Stadium as the Stage Front Stadium.

Other uses

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On 3 July 2010, the stadium received a live concert of American hip hop group The Black Eyed Peas, during The E.N.D World Tour, in front of 30,000 fans.

On 1 June 2019, German metal band Rammstein performed at the stadium as part of their Europe Stadium Tour 2019 with 33,825 fans in attendance.

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League attendances

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This is a list of league games attendances of Espanyol at Cornellà-El Prat.[10]

Season Total High Low Average
2009–10 529,341 39,260 22,275 27,860
2010–11 497,691 40,240 20,134 26,193
2011–12 448,863 35,122 16,627 23,624
2012–13 397,596 30,023 15,280 20,926
2013–14 373,223 32,131 12,650 19,643
2014–15 355,128 30,253 12,710 18,691
2015–16 348,353 27,395 12,461 18,334
2016–17 381,428 31,082 14,813 20,075
2017–18 335,309 24,836 11,659 17,648
2018–19 362,219 25,700 13,469 19,064
2019–20[a] 296,935 32,084 17,390 22,841
2020–21 Season played under closed doors
2021–22[b] 329,886 25,049 11,095 17,362
  1. ^ Matches played under closed doors not included.
  2. ^ Some matches played with limited attendance.

References

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  1. ^ Jones, Rich (2019-02-09). "We ranked the top 10 stadium in La Liga - with a surprise No.1". mirror. Retrieved 2020-02-03.
  2. ^ "Facilities | RCD Espanyol". www.rcdespanyol.com. Retrieved 2019-12-17.
  3. ^ Jessop, Tara. "How To Attend An Espanyol Football Match". Culture Trip. Retrieved 2019-12-17.
  4. ^ "Facilities | RCD Espanyol". www.rcdespanyol.com. Retrieved 2019-11-20.
  5. ^ "Liverpool Crushed As Espanyol Celebrates New Stadium In Style". Goal.com. 2 August 2009. Retrieved 4 August 2009.
  6. ^ ENCUESTA: ¿Debería llamarse 'Dani Jarque' el nuevo estadio del Espanyol? elEconomista.es, 9 August 2009
  7. ^ "Pedro Tomás: "Permitidme que no me pronuncie porque no sería oportuno decir nada"". Marca.com. 10 August 2009. Retrieved 12 August 2009.
  8. ^ "El estadio del Espanyol pasa a llamarse 'Power8 Stadium' hasta 2021". RTVE.es (in Spanish). 13 June 2014. Retrieved 7 July 2014.
  9. ^ "El Espanyol da por liquidado el contrato con Power8" (in Spanish). El Periódico. 29 December 2015. Retrieved 2 January 2015.
  10. ^ "Espectadors a Cornellà-El Prat". OscarJulia.com (in Catalan). 27 May 2013.
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