The Estadio Municipal Butarque will celebrate its 23rd anniversary this coming Sunday. The Blue and Whites' stadium was inaugurated on February 14, 1998, so this weekend it will celebrate its anniversary with the match between C.D. Leganés and Albacete Balompié on Sunday at 6:15 pm.
After remaining for many years in Plaza Roma and Municipal Luis Rodríguez de Miguel, C.D. Leganés moved to its new home twenty-three years ago. Butarque was inaugurated with a draw (1-1) against Xerez Deportivo, with the visitor Fernando Román scoring the first goal in the new stadium. The late Julián Ronda was the first C.D. Leganés player to score a goal at Butarque. The first line-up consisted of: Unanua; Óscar, Tocho, Moj, Julián Ronda; Cuéllar, Alfredo, Jaime, Llorens; Etoo and Catanha. Aitor Tornavaca, Teixeira and Stojlikovic also took part in that first day when Pedro Braojos was the Pepinero coach.
481 official matches with close to 50% of wins
Since then, Butarque has seen 481 official matches of C.D. Leganés between First, Second, Second Division 'B', promotion play-offs and Copa del Rey, with 222 wins, 141 draws and 118 defeats. Among them, some unforgettable ones such as the victories against teams like Real Madrid C.F. or F.C. Barcelona, some Cup semifinals against Sevilla F.C. or decisive matches to achieve permanence or promotion. Butarque has undergone a great transformation since its inauguration, going from 8,000 to the current 12,454 seats after several renovations that also included the main façade, Gate 0, official store or VIP corporate boxes, and being the home of more than 10,300 season ticket holders who hope to return soon to Butarque when the sanitary conditions allow it.
