Estadio Rico Pérez: the Alicante stadium where Maradona played

Yes, Diego Maradona really did play in Alicante. In the summer of 1982 a 21-year-old Maradona, at his very first World Cup, took the pitch at the Estadio José Rico Pérez, the home of Hércules CF, when the ground staged three matches of the FIFA World Cup Spain 1982. Two of them were Argentina group games. For a stadium that had opened only eight years earlier, it was the biggest moment in its history, and, as it turned out, the end of its golden age.

Estadio Rico Pérez, Alicante

Did Maradona really play at the Rico Pérez?

He did. The Estadio José Rico Pérez was one of the venues for the 1982 World Cup and hosted three matches, including two of Argentina's group games. The reigning champions arrived with a young Diego Maradona in the squad, playing his first senior World Cup at the age of 21. Argentina beat Hungary 4-1 in front of 32,093 spectators on 18 June 1982, then saw off El Salvador 2-0 on 23 June. The ground's third World Cup fixture was the third-place playoff, in which Poland edged France 3-2 on 10 July before a crowd of around 32,500.

To host these games, a new upper stand had been added just before the tournament to increase the ground's capacity. It was a proud moment, but an expensive one: the work generated debt that weighed on Hércules CF for years afterwards. In other words, the stadium's finest hour also marked the beginning of its decline.

When did the Rico Pérez open?

The stadium opened on 3 August 1974, replacing the old La Viña ground, which had become too small for the club. The inaugural match was a glamorous affair: Hércules CF hosted the FC Barcelona of Johan Cruyff and lost 0-4, with goals from Rexach, Asensi, Cruyff himself and Pérez. The ground was named after José Rico Pérez (1918-2010), the former Hércules president who drove its construction.

What was the stadium's golden age?

The early years were the best years. From its opening in 1974, Hércules CF strung together eight consecutive seasons in Primera División, Spain's top flight, and it was during that spell that the club and its ground earned their place in the wider Spanish football story. Across the stadium's entire history, Hércules have totalled 12 seasons in Primera División, but the momentum never returned in the same way. The turning point came at the turn of the 1980s: the debt from the 1982 World Cup expansion meant the club never fully recovered the stability of those early campaigns. The last promotion to the top flight came in 2010, and lasted a single season. Since then, Hércules have spent most of their time in the lower divisions, with the occasional short-lived promotion.

How many people does the Rico Pérez hold?

There is no single agreed figure. Sources give capacities ranging from about 24,700 to nearly 33,500 across different periods and documents, depending on the era and the stand configuration; the most commonly cited range is roughly 25,000 to 29,000. What is clear is that the ground has never again matched the crowds of its opening match in 1974 or of that busy summer of 1982.

Who owns the stadium today?

The ownership story is a tangled one, and it explains a lot about why the ground has been hard to modernise. Hércules CF owned the stadium until the early 1990s, when it passed to Alicante city council. In 2007 it was bought by the company Aligestión, owned by Enrique Ortiz. In 2010 an 18-million-euro loan from CAM, a former Spanish savings bank, was guaranteed by the Institut Valencià de Finances (IVF) under the then PP-led regional government. When Aligestión went bankrupt in 2017, the stadium went to auction and was bought by the Valencian regional government (Generalitat Valenciana) through the IVF for 3.7 million euros, against an estimated value of more than 13 million euros. Today the owner is public: the Generalitat Valenciana, via the IVF. Hércules, meanwhile, are tenants in their own stadium, a common situation in Spain that makes any large renovation project harder to arrange.

Where do Hércules stand in 2026?

For the 2025-26 season, confirmed at the end of June 2025, Hércules CF play in the Primera Federación, Spain's third tier, in Group 2 (East-South). The make-up of the groups for 2026-27 was not yet known at the time of writing. Before the 2025-26 season, the club and the IVF, as owner, agreed to carry out emergency works on the ground. Both sides accept that a wider renovation would be needed, a long-standing demand from supporters, but no timeline or budget for a major project has been made public. In short, there is no "new Rico Pérez" project on the table, unlike some other stadiums in the region.

Frequently asked questions

Did Maradona really play in Alicante?
Yes. Diego Maradona played two of Argentina's 1982 World Cup group matches at the Estadio Rico Pérez, aged 21, in what was his first World Cup.

When was the Rico Pérez stadium opened?
It opened on 3 August 1974, with an inaugural match against Johan Cruyff's FC Barcelona, which Hércules lost 0-4.

What division do Hércules play in today?
In the 2025-26 season Hércules CF play in the Primera Federación, the third tier of Spanish football, in Group 2 (East-South).

Sources

Facts cross-checked and rewritten, never copied, from encyclopedic entries on the Estadio José Rico Pérez, Hércules CF and the 1982 FIFA World Cup, the official Hércules CF website, and Spanish sports and regional press for the ownership history, the 2017 IVF takeover and the 2025-26 sporting situation, consulted July 2026.

Information verified in July 2026. The Daily Costa Blanca is an AI-assisted publication with human editorial review and responsibility.