Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan Stadium — Attraction in Seville

WHERE FOOTBALL AND RELIGION MEET Seville, Spain’s fourth largest city, is a place rich in mythology, filled with places of historic and religious significance. Up to the 13th century, the Muslim Moors ruled this part of Spain, but they were defeated by Ferdinand III of Castille when the town was converted to Christianity. In the 16th century, the world’s largest Gothic cathedral was built in Seville, with a bell tower that started out as a minaret. The cathedral provides the last resting place for the remains of Christopher Columbus. During the 2000s, Sevilla FC conquered Europe. The Andalusian club may have had limited success at home, but it holds the record for the number of Europa League titles. This was achieved in 2015, when they beat the Ukrainian club Dnipro 3-2 in the final, securing their fourth title in the competition. This was just nine years after they first wrote their name into the European footballing annals, beating Middlesbrough 4-0 in the final. This was a golden age during which players like Dani Alves, Luís Fabiano and Jesús Navas represented the club. The foundations for these successes were laid when José María del Nido was elected president in 2002. Under his guidance, the finances of the club were straightened out and Sevilla established themselves as a top team in Spain. Since 2013, del Nido has been serving a prison sentence for corruption. In his absence, the sports supremo Ramón Rodríguez Verdejo, better known as Monchi, just carried on this tradition of success, securing another Europa League triumph, this time against Liverpool in the spring of 2016.

CLUB: Sevilla FC NICKNAMES: Sevillistas, Los Rojiblancos (the Red and Whites), Los Nervionenses (the People of Nervión, a district of Seville) and El Grande de Andalucía (the Pride of Andalusia) FOUNDED: 1890 STADIUM: Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán, Seville (42,500 capacity) HISTORIC PLAYERS: Biri Biri, Manolo Jiménez, Antonio Puerta, Sergio Ramos and José...

Estadio Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán is located in central Seville at walking distance from the city centre and the main railway station.

The walk from the cathedral in Seville’s historic centre (located west of the stadium) can be made in half an hour. From the main railway station 10 minutes should be enough to reach the stadium on foot.

Alternatively, one can take the metro to the stadium. Stations Nervión and Gran Plaza on Seville’s only line 1 are closest to the stadium. These can be reached from Station P. Jerez, located in the south of the historic centre.

Estadio Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán lies one block off Luis de Morales avenue, which circles Seville’s centre on its east. If arriving by car from Seville’s ring road further east (A4), take one of the large avenues toward Seville’s city centre, and, at approach of the centre, turn onto Luis de Morales (named differently further north or south).

Estadio Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán is located in a dense urban area close to Seville’s city centre. Shopping centre Nervión Plaza lies right next to the stadium, and boasts a cinema and various food outlets.

Furthermore, there are plenty of smaller bars and restaurants on Luis de Morales and in the area toward the historic centre, though for proper nightlife one has to head into the centre itself (e.g. around Plaza Nueva).

There are a few hotels located close to Estadio Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán. Hotel Melia Lebreros and Hotel Medium Virgen de los Reyes are within a few blocks of the stadium. The latter is the more basic one, and also somewhat cheaper. Hostal San Vicente II, located at the back of the stadium, is another basic option.

Hotel Sevilla Center is an excellent and affordable alternative located between the stadium and the historic centre. Ayre Hotel Sevilla is great if you want to stay close to the...

Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán was opened in 1958 as an all-stand stadium with a capacity of 70,329 spectators, replacing the Estadio de Nervión .Its capacity was reduced to 68,110 for the 1982 FIFA World Cup. It was further reduced to its current capacity of 42,714 seats when it was refurbished and transformed into an all-seater stadium during the mid 1990s. The stadium is nicknamed "La Bombonera" (pronounced [la βomboˈneɾa] ; more commonly used to refer to Estadio Alberto J. Armando , the home stadium of Boca Juniors ) or "La Bombonera de Nervión" [la βomboˈneɾa ðe neɾˈβjon] due to the Nervión neighbourhood where the stadium is situated. This stadium contains a singular legend: the Spanish national team has never lost a game against an international team in this stadium. In European competition, Sevilla has lost only five times at home; to AZ in the 2006–07 UEFA Cup group stage, to CSKA Moscow in the 2009–10 UEFA Champions League, to Real Betis in the 2013–14 UEFA Europa League , to Manchester City in the 2015–16 UEFA Champions League and to Bayern Munich in the 2017–18 UEFA Champions League. In May 2018, the club announced launching an expansion project for the stadium that will eventually increase its seating capacity up...