Estadio Romano

This is a ground that keeps a foot in two centuries. The playing surface is modern. The stadium sits in District 3 of Mérida, close to those ruins.

Estadio Romano was erected in 1953 as an athletics ground. The track was removed in 1995 to accommodate the local club’s promotion to La Liga, and the capacity rose from eight thousand to fourteen thousand five hundred. The surface is natural grass, maintained by an underground irrigation system. The floodlighting was upgraded in 2009 for a World Cup qualifier against Estonia.

There is a heavy history here, but the ground does not dwell on it. The club that built it, CP Mérida, folded in 2000, and the stadium has since found new tenants, including AD Mérida. The Spanish national team have played there, and the attendance record of eighteen thousand was set at a match against Real Madrid in 1996, when standing was permitted in the stands.

The exterior is not imposing. The visitors do not expect a giant arena; they expect a game played in a place where time has moved differently.