Spain coach Julen Lopetegui attends official East Stand opening
The day saw representatives from SD Eibar meet with figures from the Basque political and sporting authorities
Today will go down as a day to remember in Eibar's history after the new East Stand at Ipurua was officially opened this morning, despite the facility having already gradually come into use over the course of recent months.
There was great expectation amongst the media and supporters as club president, Amaia Gorostiza, began the day by welcoming those in attendance and reflecting on a part of the club's history: "It's not every day that we get to open a new stand. We continue to work on getting all of the internal areas of the stand, like the museum and the official club shop up and running. Since our promotion to Primera, we have rebuilt two of our stands as a part of the necessary renovation process of a stadium which is now 70 years old". The president recognised the important role played by the fans housed in this stand, which is where the supporters' groups are located and most of the chanting comes from. Gorostiza closed her address by thanking, "the willingness shown by all of those who live around the stadium, who have played their part in ensuring that the work caused as little disruption as possible".
During her address, the president also sought to thank the collaboration and presence of various political figures, including Denis Itxaso, minister for culture, tourism and sport and Miguel de los Toyos, mayor of Eibar.
When it came to cutting the ribbon and unveiling the plaque to mark the official opening, the president was assisted by Spain coach, Julen Lopetegui, who later went on to lead the first class of the Diploma in Football, a course which is being jointly run by the SD Eibar Foundation and the University of the Basque Country.
In addition to the national team coach, amongst those in attendance were most of the SD Eibar board; the president of the Basque Football Federation, Luis María Elustondo; his counterpart in Guipzkoa, Juan Luis Larrea; the dean of the Faculty of Education and Sports Science at the University of the Basque Country, Maite Fuentes, who was accompanied by the vice-rector of the Gipuzkoa Campus and the director of the Faculty of Education and Sports Science at the University of the Basque Country; representatives from Eibar City Council and the recently-landed members of the Peña Eibar USA supporters' group and the iconic Peña Eskozia La Brava.
Following on from the opening of the new stand, the boards of both clubs came together for lunch, with the president and the Eibar board members hosting their Real Madrid counterparts at the Sociedad Gastronómica Bomba. Meanwhile, Ipurua was playing host to an informal gathering in which football conversation took centre stage as three high-profile Basque coachesJosé Luis Mendilibar, Julen Lopetegui and Javier Clemente came together.
Ipurua's new East Stand
The new East Stand, which replaces the previous stand built at the start of the 1970s offers supporters with facilities boasting real comfort, featuring new seats, toilets, bars, as well as new and improved security and evacuation measures, four entry and exit points, two of which are at street level, an area for those with reduced mobility and a lift.