With more than 60,000 inhabitants, Irun is the second most populated city in Gipuzkoa after Donostia. A sweet market for Pelota Pro Liga that … However, it does not have a great pelotazale tradition. The remodeling of the Uranzu fronton completed in July 2019 and which entailed the expansion of its capacity from 480 to 728 seats but, above all, the appearance on the scene of Unai Amiano from Irundarra has created the ideal context for the ball to take root definitively in the border town, orphan of a star that draws hundreds of fans behind it. Today, a little more than three years after its last visit, a great professional championship stops again at Uranzu. The menu promises. To whet your appetite, the presence of Amiano and as the main course, the transcendental Zabala-Martija against Larrazabal-Mariezkurrena II.
“We want Uranzu to be Amiano’s home,” says Borja Olazabal, Councilor for Sports, Mobility and Sustainable Development of the Irun City Council. “When we found out that Amiano was going to make his professional debut, we spoke with the companies because we wanted his debut to be here, and when we saw that he had options to play in the final of Cuatro y Medio Serie B, we opted to bring the final and it was a success,” he reviews.
There is no doubt that the striker from the Ventas neighborhood is the current big attraction, but the idea of the Irundarra council is clear: «We are super open to receiving championship matches. Whenever the games are interesting, Irun wants to be there. We are clear that we are not a historic plaza like Astelena, Beotibar or Atano III, but the intention is for Uranzu to be on that second step of important pediments,” says Olazabal.
The final of Cuatro y Medio Serie B last November brought enormous satisfaction as the fronton registered a full house, something that seems to be repeated today because yesterday there were just over a hundred seats left for sale. «People are responding very well again. It is clear that in Irun there is a desire to see baseball and Amiano’s presence helps in that sense, although at the festival that we organize every year on July 1 after Saint Martial’s Day the tickets are usually very good. Without going any further, last year we were full,” recalls the councilor.
Three games in a pandemic
Today’s First Couples match will mark the return of a great championship since in December 2022 Ezkurdia and Martija played against Jaka and Aranguren on the fifth day of the first phase.
And if we take this century as a reference, Parejas has passed through Irun on 17 occasions, while Manomanista and Cuatro y Medio have only stopped twice each. Furthermore, both the two Manomanista visits and the 2021 Couples match had to be played behind closed doors due to the pandemic, so the Irundarra fans were also unable to enjoy those top-level matches live.
Since then, only the San Fermín Tournament duel of four and a half between Laso and Artola (22-11) on July 1, 2022, framed within the traditional San Martial festival, has alleviated the thirst for official matches.
