Estadios de Fútbol en España: Roquetas de Mar - Estadio Municipal Antonio Peroles

A football club likes to cling on to its history. History gives a club status and kudos. If you don't have history, you are on the bottom rung. Club Deportivo Roquetas has history, only it belongs to somebody else. The club is insistent that it was formed in 1933, even stating that it once went by the name of Sociedad Cultural y Deportiva Roquetense. There was indeed a club that went by that name and played in Roquetas de Mar, but it folded during the Civil War. Rather tellingly, the History page on CD Roquetas' website then leaps forward to the 1970's, which is when the current club came into existence.

Over the past 40 years, Roquetas de Mar has expanded rapidly, thanks in main to tourism and agriculture. During this period, CD Roquetas had remained largely dormant, spending most of the 70's & 80's in the regional leagues. It did have a four season spell in the Tercera in the mid 80's and returned to this level in 1992-93. Over the next dozen years the club sat mid-table never threatening the relegation or promotion spots. Matches were played at Campo de La Algaida, a basic enclosure with a dirt pitch, on the banks of the dried-up river. The club left these uninspiring surroundings in 1998 and moved to municipal sports field in the shadow of the city's bullring. The Estadio Municipal Los Bajos was better, but only just. All spectators would watch matches from a large slab of terracing on the east side of the ground, which had a capacity of 4,000. This was separated from the pitch by a shingle athletics track, whilst four oversized floodlight pylons looked down on the sorry scene. Unsurprisingly, CD Roquetas did not achieve anything of particular merit at either of these stadiums.

In June 2005, the municipality opened a new stadium to the south west of the town. This modern multi-sports facility was named Estadio Municipal Antonio Peroles and hosted events during that summer's Mediterranean Games. CD Roquetas moved in for the start of the 2005-06 season and over the next three seasons results improved, with the club winning its first Tercera title at the end of the 07-08 season. CF Catarroja & CD Teruel were beaten in the play-offs as the club secured its first promotion to Segunda B. A steady first season at the third level was followed by a more difficult second. The club finished 16th in 2009-10 season and had to play CD Toledo for the right to remain in Segunda B. A 2-1 aggregate victory ensured another season at the third level and CD Roquetas responded with an excellent seventh place finish in 10-11.

The Estadio Municipal Antonio Peroles is a bright modern facility that any town the size of Roquetas de Mar would be proud of. It has a capacity of 9,000 seats, the bulk of which are on the west side where the main stand is situated. This two tiered construction, offers great views of the pitch under a shallow cantilevered roof. Opposite is a bank of open seating, its seven rows arranged in a wave of blue & black seats. Sensibly, for a stadium with an athletics track, there are no seats behind the goals, ensuring that the paying spectators get a decent a view of the pitch. Not that they could for much of the 2011-12 season. Much of the grass was killed off when fertilising the pitch at the start of the season, rather ironic given that the stadium is surrounded by poly-tunnels growing every conceivable fruit & vegetable! So with the pitch at the Estadio Municipal Antonio Peroles deemed unplayable, the club returned to Los Bajos. It was not a happy homecoming and CD Roquetas dropped back to the Tercera in June 2012.