The Lezama Facilities (, ), are the training ground and

academy An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

of the Primera Division club

Athletic Bilbao Athletic Club (; ), commonly known as Athletic Bilbao (), or simply Athletic, is a professional Football club (association football), football club based in the city of Bilbao in the Southern Basque Country, Basque Country, Spain. They are known ...

. Located in the village of Lezama, around 10–15 kilometers east of

Bilbao Bilbao is a city in northern Spain, the largest city in the Provinces of Spain, province of Biscay and in the Basque Country (greater region), Basque Country as a whole. It is also the largest city proper in northern Spain. Bilbao is the List o ...

, the facilities were opened in 1971 and currently cover 13 hectares (130,000 square meters). Athletic's academy is often referred to

metonymically Metonymy () is a figure of speech in which a concept is referred to by the name of something associated with that thing or concept. For example, the word "suit" may refer to a person from groups commonly wearing business attire, such as salespe ...

as Lezama. Lezama hosts the Athletic men's first team for training and the league matches of the

Liga F The Primera División de la Liga de Fútbol Femenino, currently known as the Liga F (finetwork Liga F for sponsorship reasons), is the highest level of Sports league, league competition for women's football in Spain. It is the women's equivalent ...

club Athletic Club Femenino, as well as the youth teams of the Athletic cantera (academy): the men's reserve team, the women's reserve team, the junior teams (ages 17–19), the cadet teams (ages 15–16), the youngster teams (ages 13–14), and the children's teams (ages 11–12). In June 2021, the facilities also became the temporary home ground of

Segunda División The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Segunda División, commonly known as Segunda División or La Liga 2, and officially known as LaLiga HyperMotion for sponsorship reasons, is the men's second professional association football division of the Spa ...

newcomers SD Amorebieta, as Amorebieta's stadium Urritxe did not meet league requirements. The arrangement was repeated in 2023–24 when Amorebieta was re-promoted to the Segunda Division.

Facilities

*Field 2 (seating 3,250) is the home stadium of Athletic Club Femenino and the men's reserve team

Bilbao Athletic Athletic Club "B", officially Bilbao Athletic, is the reserve team of Athletic Club, a football club based in Bilbao, in the autonomous community of Basque Country in Spain. The team currently compete in the . Founded in 1964, the team holds ho ...

, as well as SD Amorebieta during its stays in the

. * 4 full-size natural grass pitches including Field 1 (used by the men's senior team) and Field 5 (used by the ''Juvenil'' (under-19) academy teams). * 3 full-size artificial turf pitches including Field 8 (used by the women's reserve team). * 1 mini football artificial turf pitch. * A service centre with a gymnasium, press rooms, and medical facilities. * An 18-bed dormitory for academy athletes, opened in September 2021.

The San Mames arch

The main stand of Athletic's original San Mamés Stadium was supported by an iconic arch. Erected in 1953, the arch was reportedly the first of its kind ever built in an athletic stadium. When the ground was demolished in 2013, Athletic preserved the arch and transported it to Lezama, reinstalling the arch alongside the Athletic Club Femenino and

pitch. The arch overlooks Field 2's spectator seats. The complex also features busts of Athletic icons

Telmo Zarra Pedro Telmo Zarraonandía Montoya (20 January 1921 – 23 February 2006), known as Telmo Zarra (, ), was a Spanish association football, football Forward (association football), forward. He spent the majority of his career at Athletic Bilbao, fr ...

and Piru Gainza.

References

External links

Official websiteEstadios de España
{{coord, 43, 16, 42, N, 02, 50, 19, W, type:landmark, display=title Athletic Bilbao Football venues in the Basque Country (autonomous community) Lezama Buildings and structures in Biscay Sports venues completed in 1971 Sport in Biscay SD Amorebieta 1971 establishments in Spain Athletic Club Femenino