The Stadium

The story of El Molinón is the same as the city of Gijón and the Club Real Sporting. After a hundred years of existence, the emblematic Stadium is ready to face its latest remodeling, which promises a spectacular change. As if it were an older brother, El Molinón saw the expansion and growth of the Isabel la Catolica Park, the Castro Brothers Park, the International Fair of Samples, the Sports Palace, and the Ethnographic Museum of the People of Asturias... And even the renewal of the Piles River.

Strategically located, El Molinon rises in the most privileged area of ​​Gijon to intermingle, like no other football stadium in Spain, an urban location in the middle of an idyllic context of exuberant nature. Even its denomination has survived to our days. Its name was given due to its proximity to the superb and old mill.

The first reference of a match played in El Molinón takes us back to 1908 on May 20th. There is an extract of the newspaper El Comercio: "Last Sunday, in the field of El Molinon was played a football match between the teams La Bella Sportiva and El Balon, the first was the winner with a supreme goal scored by the young Samuel Diaz". It has been a century since this short chronicle was written, giving El Molinon the title of the oldest professional Spanish football stadium.

The very first important competition played at the centenary stadium was the Campeonato del Norte de España of 1911. Although, the official inauguration would not take place until a few years later, In 1917, after its first remodeling. There were moments of expansion for the city, for Sporting and therefore, for El Molinon, which already became one of the best football fields of the country.

A magnificent stage for a great match, the most relevant played in Spain in 1920: the Cup final between Barcelona and Athletic.

A hundred years is a long time, and El Molinon also had many other alternative uses, such as car graveyard, runaway for helicopter landing, political meetings, fairgrounds and a long list of others. Although perhaps, the most relevant thing has been its capacity for musical performances. Especially the massive concerts of the last decades with performances of stars like Tina Turner, Bon Jovi, Dire Straits, Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen or Paul McCartney, among others.

On 27 february 2018, it became to be named El Molinón - Enrique Castro Quini.