Villarreal's El Madrigal renamed 'Estadio de la Cerámica'
The club officially renamed their stadium with the presentation of a brand new façade on the south stand, just over an hour before tonight's game against Barcelona.
New name
'Estadio de la Cerámica', is now the official, new name of Villarreal's 25,000-seater stadium. The coastal club officially renamed it's stadium, doing away with the old 'El Madridgal' name - which it has known by since 1925. The change was made at precisely 18:30 hours CET with the presentation of a new façada at the south stand end of the ground. During the event a video complilation of the club's history which had been produced by the club's media department Villarreal's history, was shown.
"Permanent ceramics exhibition"
The new name is the first phase is the remodelling of the stadium. The façade on the south stand has been given a new look with yellow ceramic tiles covering the outside wall - the rest of the stadium will follow suit. Apart from making their stadium more attractive, the idea is to promote local ceramics businesses in the Vila-real region so that they can showcase their products. The façade will also feature the names of the companies who have sponsored the revamp.. Club President Fernando Roig defined the tiled façade as "like a permanent exhibition - everyone in Vila-real will benefit from the new, multi-use stadium" and added that a club museum will be added during construction work, which is expected to last "two to three years".