Mallorca, holiday island par excellence, used to be a place where all top football clubs came to weak in the knees. RCD Mallorca (often called Real) isn't the sub-topper anymore they were 20 years ago, but with a spot in the top flight the fans are more than happy at the moment.
Until 1999 Mallorca had one of the finest stadiums of Spain, after 1999 one of the ugliest. At the time, there were several extremely cheerless stadiums being built, very megalomaniac, often with a running track around the pitch too. Son Moix (now the Visit Mallorca Estadi has place for 20.500 fans, but it's never completely full. It's in fact a giant athletics stadium, an uninspired design where fans sit miles away from the pitch. A couple of years ago, the club built a temporary stand behind the northern goal, de Grada Lluis Sitjar, which stands actually on the inner side of the running track. It's the place for the fanatics, so that they are least a little bit closer to the players they cheer on.
At the entrance of the parking space behind the main stand at the Cami dels Reis there's a big sculpture of a football player with his foot on the ball. It's a piece of art of Joan Bennassar, a famous artist from Mallorca. His recognizable work can be found all over the island, and this football player he created especially for the centenary of the club, in 2016.
On the north side of Son Moix you'll find the Mallorcafe, a restaurant dedicated to RCD Mallorca. In front of the windows there are pictures of famous managers of the club, like Hector Cuper and Luis Aragones. It's thé place for the Mallorquinas to have some good food and a beer before the match.
In the centre of Palma de Mallorca lays the Plaça de Cort, a beautiful square in the shape of a pie slice. In the point you'll have the fan stores of Real Madrid and RCD Mallorca right opposite each other. The most prominent building on the square is the town hall of Palma de Mallorca, the place where the celebrations of RCD Mallorca take place. The players appear on the balcony and on the Plaça de Cort it's full of people. The last time that happened was in 2019, because at the promotion in 2021 no celebrations were allowed.
For years, the beloved former stadium of Mallorca just lay there waiting for demolition. Altogether it was approximately 15 years until the Estadio Lluis Sitjar finally was demolished, but still to this day there's enough to see from the old stadium. The enclosing walls are still standing, with as highlight the former entrance at the Carrer de Ramon Picó I Campamar. Traces of a lost ground you rarely see anymore, so a must-visit for the real football romantics.
Around the corner at the Estadi Lluís Sitjar you'll find an old, run-down velodrome along the Carrer de Miquel dels Sants Oliver, diagonally opposite the Carrer de Damas Calvet. It's the former Velódromo de Tirador, and at the pitch in the middle RCD Mallorca (then still the Alfonso XIII Foot-Ball Club called) her very first matches.
'Every disadvantage has its advantage', said Johan Cruyff once. At Mallorca, the advantage of the cheerless stadium is that you can easily get tickets. You can order them on the official website of the club.
If you don't have an own car, you can reach Son Moix best by bus. From the bus stop at the Plaça d'Espanya, bus 6 or 8 bring you in 15 minutes to the home of RCD Mallorca.
Images: Shutterstock
