Astelena

Catedral de la pelota a mano (Hand-Pelota Cathedral)
Full name	Frontón Astelena
Location	11 Isasi Street, Eibar, Gipuzkoa, Basque Autonomous Community, Spain
Coordinates	43°11′02.04″N 2°28′31.66″W / 43.1839000°N 2.4754611°W / 43.1839000; -2.4754611
Owner	Eibar municipality
Capacity	1250
Field size	41m (Length); 11m (wide); 9m (height)
Construction
Broke ground	1903
Opened	24 June 1904
Renovated	1969-2006-2007
Architect	José Gurruchaga (original), Cosme de Uriarte (1969),
General contractor	Francisco Irusta
Main contractors	Josefa Echeverría & sons

The Astelena fronton, nicknamed Cathedral of Basque Hand-pelota, is a fronton located in Eibar, Gipuzkoa, Basque Autonomous Community, Spain.

Astelena is a short 41 meter-long fronton where hand-pelota and pala modalities are played. The field has a width of 11 m, and the wall a height of 9 m.

It was inaugurated in 1904 and has been renovated on several occasions, most recently between 2006 and 2007,^[1] to meet current needs. The finals of the 1st Hand-Pelota singles championship (1946, 1950, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1960, 1966, 1973 and 1999) and the Cuatro y Medio Euskadi Championship final of 1992 were played at the Astelena.

History

Astelena fronton in 1946.

The fronton was inaugurated in 1904 on the Feast of St John, the patron saint of Eibar, with a game to 22 points between local players Tacolo and Cantabria. In October of the same year, Francisco Irusta, a local resident, presented a project to cover the open-air fronton, which was signed and approved by José Gurruchaga, the municipal architect.

Since the fronton was the only public closed space in Eibar, most important events of the town were celebrated there, including boxing matches, dances, cockfights, festivals, and dinners honouring specific people.

In 1906 it was purchased by C. Aguirre, F. Bascaran, I. Irusta, M. Echeverría, M. Gómez, I. Vildósola, A. Eguiguren and B. Gárate.

The fronton suffered several damage during the Civil War and was used as a barracks and dining place until 1940, when the 1st Hand-Pelota singles championship was established. On 20 November 1955 the 50th anniversary of the fronton was celebrated, despite both the day and year being wrong.

Astelena fronton in 1960

On 28 December 1969 the fronton was closed for renovations supervised by Cosme de Uriarte. The exterior appearance of the building was not changed, but door gate 9, which gave spectators direct access to the field, was replaced by a new door, and the window in the left wall was replaced. The re-inauguration took place on 8 October 1972, in a game played between Retegi I and Tapia. Luciano Gastañagatorre and Alberto Vidarte were the facility owners. The renovated fronton had a capacity of 1300 spectators.

On 28 December 1997 the fronton was closed again for renovations, after two years of being owned by Asegarce.

In 1998 Aspe purchased the facilities, which were reopened with a game between Goñi I and Elkoro.

In 2004 a commemorative anniversary book was published.

On 1 March 2005 the fronton was again closed due to a disagreement among the owners (60% the Gaztañatorre family of Bilbao and 40% the Vidarte family of Eibar).

On 2006, it was purchased for 3 million € by the municipality of Eibar and again closed for major renovations during 2006–2007, finally reopening on 20 May 2007.

Championships

Stands of Astelena fronton

References