Stage Front Stadium

Stage Front Stadium – Barcelona's other ground

Travel to Barcelona and one stadium comes to mind. There is a second, and for many visitors it is the more interesting one: the home of RCD Espanyol in Cornellà de Llobregat, south-west of the city.

Football only, stands tight to the pitch

Opened in 2009, around 40,000 seats, no running track — the stands sit directly on the grass. That is rarer in Spain than people assume, and it is the clearest difference from the country's older arenas.

The name changes with the sponsor: RCDE Stadium, Estadi Cornellà-El Prat and formerly Power8 Stadium all mean the same building. Search for any of them and you are in the right place.

Why the journey is worth it

Espanyol have spent over a century in the shadow of their neighbours, and that shapes the atmosphere. The crowd here is largely local, tickets are affordable, and a full house against Real Madrid or Barcelona is as loud as this league gets.

The club was founded in 1900 and is the only Spanish side to carry both the Real designation and the crown on its badge, granted by King Alfonso XIII.

Getting there — plan for it

The ground is not in the city centre. Allow around half an hour from central Barcelona: metro or tram towards Cornellà, then a short walk. Barcelona-El Prat airport, incidentally, is closer to the stadium than it is to the centre.

The usual rule applies to the return leg: the crowd leaves in one wave. Five minutes early saves a considerable wait.

Barcelona around the match

The city needs no recommendation, but one practical note helps: because the ground lies outside the centre, a hotel downtown works just as well as one near the stadium — the journey is the same either way. So take the centre, where everything else is.