Editor’s note: The author co-wrote this piece with his son Kael
Anthony: I have always been excited about watching a live football game in Europe because I was told it was an experience like no other. And with my kids in tow, that excitement doubled. So when I got a call from Luis Arregui, the Head of International Development of CA Osasuna, from LaLiga, I was over the moon!
We were invited to watch their home match versus Rayo Vallecano last month and that was an experience we will never forget.
Kael: It has been on my bucket list to be able to watch a LaLiga game live. From seeing games only through a screen, to finally experiencing the atmosphere in the stadium. It was everything I expected it to be.
Anthony: So we took the train from Madrid to Pamplona, together with my daughter, Annika, who is also a football fan, so we were talking about the match all throughout the ride. Aside from the match, we were excited about seeing the stadium, El Sadar, because it was named “World Stadium of the Year” for 2021.
Athony/Kael: We got to the stadium right at kick-off, and waiting at the door of the stadium was Luis. He ushered us to our seats and we enjoyed the first half. The stadium design was great, from the entrances, bleachers and the rail seating behind one of the goals. It was designed in such a way that no matter where you were seated, you would still be up close and personal with the game.
At halftime, we were invited to the hospitality suite where we had our fill of food and drinks. Luis began to talk about the club, its past, its present and plans for the future. We were so engrossed in the stories that we didn’t realize halftime was over, and immediately following the break, Osasuna scored the first goal of the match!
We rushed back to our seats for the exciting final 45 minutes, where Rayo Vallecano equalized with a free kick from Florian Lejeune in the 75th minute, but saving the day for Osasuna was Ruben Garcia, who scored in the final minutes of the match.
We then had our full chat with Luis.
Kael: Please talk to us about this beautiful stadium you have.
Luis: “This is the first time a club made its members choose what kind of stadium they wanted. What we did was we made an open tender, with 5 contestants consisting of architects and construction companies from the region. All given specifications on budget, the amount of seats, and type of building we generally wanted to make. So for about a month or two we were getting so much information from them. We had an open voting with the members and we broadcasted it on television for them to vote democratically on the design that they liked and the Estadio El Sadar stadium now is the project that won. This fully refurbished stadium only cost 22 million euros. If you are familiar with stadium refurbishments this price was really, really, really cheap. We only achieved that because we are a members club. We spoke with our stakeholders and they agreed to do it not for the profit margins but because they want to support Osasuna, the architects and construction firms. It's an honor to build this Osasuna stadium. We couldn’t have done this without our stakeholders, our fans, or partners and our collaborators. It is just one of the primary examples of the connection between Osasuna and Navarra and its community.”
Anthony: So what would you say is the strength of Osasuna?
Luis: “I always say that the club, the stadium and the Sunday football matches are just the tip of the iceberg, below the water there is a really huge structure which involves the grassroots programs. We are the region of Spain which has the highest percentage of professional players and we are the fourth in Europe. We have invested a lot of money without wanting to win or earn anything because we are a football club, we are a members club and we want to develop our grassroots. We only scout in Navarra, all of our players in the academy are from Navarra. It’s kind of crazy. To mention some players from Navarra; Azpilicueta, Nacho Monreal, Raul Garcia, Inaki Williams, Javi Martinez, Iker Munain, Alex Remiro, and many more. We just love to develop players, it’s in our core.”