Loja Club Deportivo will debut in Segunda B in September thanks to their championship winning season and the defeat of Real Valladolid B in the play-off finals. Founded in 1968, progress has been slow, and although the club first reached the Tercera in 1980, it has only become a regular fixture in Group IX in the past decade. Much of the time has been spent at the foot of the table fighting relegation, but in recent seasons, form has improved, resulting in a third place finish in 2010-11 and the title this year.
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| I left my heart in San Francisco - Home for 38 years |
For the first 38 years of its existence, home was the Campo de San Franciso, a delightfully basic little stadium, with a narrow propped cover on the west side and a few steps of terracing dotted around the rest of the enclosure. A primary school overlooks the north end of the ground, whilst its dusty ochre dirt pitch still hosts local amatuer football. In September 2006, the club moved to the north west of town and the Estadio Municipal Medina Lauxa, a multi-use stadium that despite the presence of an athletics track, has its charms and merits. Built by the
municipality at a cost of €4 million, it is a single stand stadium that unusually, has its
only cover situated on the north east side of the ground. This raised stand seats 1250 in a semi-circular arc of blue and white seats. At the rear of the stand, a series of tall steel stanchions support a high arced cantilevered roof. This elegant stand looks down on a six lane athletics track and artificial playing surface. The stadium was inaugurated on 10 December 2006 when Loja CD beat Alhaurin de la Torre by two goals to one.
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| Estadio Medina Lauxa - All very tidy, but is it big enough? |
With Loja CD due to start life in Segunda B, the possibility of introducing additional seating will need to be considered. The athletics track runs close up to the boundary wall on the remaining three sides of the stadium, so that rules out any expansion there. The best option would appear to be the erection of temporary seating on the arc behind each goal and the track. Whatever the outcome, Loja CD is about to embark on its most exciting journey yet. It all seems a million miles away from the years spent on the dusty pitch at the Campo San Francisco.
Labels: Andalucia, Tercera or Below
