News Clearing the cold air of the home Mallorca Kubo, dramatic final OG trigger shortened the "mental distance" between the pitch and the stands

[Column from Spain] Mallorca's stadium renovation plan to shorten the distance between players and spectators

MF Takefusa Kubo who contributed to the victory against Bilbao [Photo: Toru Shimada]

Majorca midfielder Takefusa Kubo scored the de facto winning goal (official record is Unai Simon's own goal) in the match against Athletic Bilbao in the 24th round of La Liga on February 14th. He threw off his uniform and ran through the half of the pitch from the north goal at such a speed that even the TV cameras couldn't catch up, and passed in front of the team's bench. He celebrated his score as the players entered before the game under the main stand. [Video] Mallorca Kubo provokes the winning goal! In the match against Bilbao, the shooting scene from an angleless position In the post-match interview, Kubo said, "My head went blank and I thought about jumping into the stands, but it was so high that I couldn't." In reality, the height from the pitch to the main stand is about 4 meters, and the front row of the stands protrudes forward, so there are no stairs connecting them directly. Considering the situation, you can see that the players were in a euphoric and a little silly state when they scored. The usually indifferent Kubo forgot himself and showed a winning run in an excited state, and the distance between the team and players and the fans was shortened at this time, and both of them celebrated the victory in a grand manner. Mallorca's home ground, the Visit Mallorca Estadi, is one of the few venues in Spain with a land track. It has long been pointed out that the distance between the pitch and the stands spoils the feeling of being live, and that the air feels cold. However, on New Year's Day this year, Mallorca announced the outline of the stadium renovation plan, and expectations are growing that a sense of unity with the pitch will be created. According to the plan, the land track will be removed and the stands will be closer to the pitch side. Currently, the distance from the main stand and back stand to the pitch is 25 meters, and the distance from the back of both goals to the pitch is 42.4 meters, but it will be closer to 8.5 meters.

If all goes well, construction will start after the end of this season, and will be completed in 2024

Conceptual drawing of Visit Mallorca Estadi after renovation work [Photo: (C) RCD Mallorca]

　In addition, a roof covering 6656 people has been installed on the backstand side, solar-powered LED lights, all chair seats have been renewed, and an event space under the stands has been secured in anticipation of activities other than matchdays. is also included. This facility was built for the 1999 Universiade and is owned by the city of Palma de Mallorca. Currently, they are laying the groundwork to obtain support from each political party. The cost will be around €20 million (approximately 2.63 billion yen at the current rate), and if all goes well, construction will begin in June after the end of the season and will be completed by the end of 2024. There have been many discussions about Mallorca's home stadium so far, "(1) Build a new stadium on the previous home (currently vacant land) and return" (2) Rotate the pitch of the current stadium 90 degrees There is a history that plans such as Although there have been some minor changes, such as the installation of a simple stand, there has been no full-scale model change. However, rather than thinking about the completion of the "new stadium" two years from now, Kubo's realistic goal is to focus on the next game, the remaining games of the season. Will it be possible to clear the cold air of the home by scoring more goals and increasing the chances of goal performance? When that happens, Kubo will become the face of the team that was expected from the beginning of the season in a true sense, and will contribute to the excitement of the stadium. [Author Profile] Toru Shimada / Born in Yamaguchi City in 1971. Moved to the West in 2001 after working as a reporter for a local newspaper. Lives in Mallorca, Spain since 2004. In addition to working as a correspondent for a sports newspaper, he also works as a photojournalist, providing photographs to the Spanish league and the sports newspaper Marca, translating websites, and other work related to Spanish football.

Toru Shimada