Estadio Nacional (Lima)

Infobox Stadium
stadium_name = Estadio Nacional
nickname = Coloso de José Díaz


fullname = Estadio Nacional
location = Lima, Peru
coordinates =
broke_ground =
built = 1951 - 1952
opened = October 27, 1952
renovated = 1992, 1996, 2004
expanded = 2004
closed =
demolished =
owner = Instituto Peruano del Deporte
operator = Instituto Peruano del Deporte
surface = Polytan Ligaturf 240 ACS 65
construction_cost =
architect =
structural engineer =
services engineer =
general_contractor=
project_manager = Miguel Dasso
main_contractors =
former_names =
tenants =Peru national football team
seating_capacity = 45,574 (football)
dimensions =104.9 x 67.86 m

The Estadio Nacional of Lima is a multi-use stadium located in Lima, Peru with a capacity of 45,574.cite web | url=http://www.fussballtempel.net/conmebol/listeconmebol.html | title=The football stadiums of South America | work=fussballtempel.net | accessdate=2008-01-15] Inaugurated on October 27, 1952, it is Peru's principal and national stadium and a venue for three of the six Copa América football competitions held in Peru. It is referred to as the Estadio Coloso de José Díaz due to the street it is located on. It is the home ground of the Peru national football team and several football clubs in Lima. It replaced the Stadium Nacional ("Viejo Estadio Nacional") that was torn down to make way for the Nacional; the Stadium Nacional hosted the earlier three South American Competitions. The Estadio Nacional's purpose was to host the 1953 South American Championship. It is owned by IPD (Peruvian Sport Institute), had an olympic running track, and has articial turf that was installed for the 2005 FIFA U-17 World Championship. The stadium is undergoing renovations so that its capacity will be 60,000. It has the third largest capacity of any stadium in the city of Lima; the stadiums that surpass the Nacional are the Estadio Monumental (80,093), and the Estadio Universidad San Marcos (67,469).

History

Peru obtained its first soccer-based field in the late 19th century, when the club Unión Cricket asked the Municipality of Lima for an appropriate piece of land where they could play soccer. The municipality gave them a small piece of land in the Santa Beatriz neighborhood which belonged to a Shooting club. On July 18, 1897, the field was officially inaugurated and named Estadio Guadalupe. The Liga Peruana de Futbol (known as the FPF today) used it for the first tournaments in Lima.

In 1921, the English residents of Peru that owned the stadium renovated and renamed the stadium from Estadio Guadalupe to Stadium Nacional and gave it to Peru as a gift. It had small wooden stands that were later donated to the Estadio Teodoro Lolo Fernandez when it was demolished. Today it is known as the Viejo Estadio Nacional. In the 1950s, Miguel Dasso and the Peruvian President General Manuel A. Odria began to fund a project to build a new stadium so that Peru may be able to enjoy the Copa America of 1953 with a larger stadium. They planned to have a spectator-capacity of 48,000 and have it entirely made out of cement. The northern and southern stands would have a capacity of 15,000 each while the eastern and western stands would have three levels. On October 27, 1952, the new Estadio Nacional was inaugurated with many comfortable features such as luxury boxes and elevators in one of the stands.

The official spectator-capacity was reduced to 42,000 in 1964. This was done because of a sports disaster in a qualifying match between Peru and Argentina for the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo. The match ended in a feeling of discontent by the spectators as they thought a goal from Peru was annulled unfairly two minutes before the game ended. The police took the erroneous decision to close the exit doors and used tear gas to calm violent fans, resulting in the asphyxia of more than 300 spectators as people rushed to the stadium's exits and accidentally pushed and knocked down other fans.

The Stadium Nacional was the sole venue for the South American Championship 1927, 1935, and 1939. The present Estadio Nacional hosted the South American Championship 1953 and 1957. The current Estadio Nacional hosted Universitario's international tournaments and in 1972 it saw Universitario reach the final of the Copa Libertadores. This happened again in 1997 with Sporting Cristal. In 1992, modern lighting was installed into the stadium. In 1996, an electronic scoreboard was installed to replace the old manual one. The stadium's symbolic element is the tower situated in the northern stand. This tower was abandoned for many years until in 2004, it was used again for the Copa America.

For many years 42,000 was its official capacity limit, until it was expanded to 45,000 for the Copa América 2004 held in Peru. Very popular international football teams and renowned players have played in this stadium, including Spain's Real Madrid, as well as players like Pelé and Maradona in previous years.

Thanks to a 5-million dollar government investment program to remodel older Peruvian stadiums, spectators were able to enjoy games with the high standards required by CONMEBOL for the Copa América 2004. This was also the first time the Estadio Nacional was not the sole venue for the South American competition. In return the country received throngs of tourists, international media coverage, and more locals buying tickets to attend the games. Peru's biggest stadium, Estadio Monumental, is also located in Lima with a capacity of 80,093 and belongs to the club Universitario de Deportes, although it was not used for the Copa América 2004.

Peru also hosted the 2005 FIFA U-17 World Championship. This stadium hosted several games including the final. Artificial turf was installed for this competition into all the venues used. The artificial turf still remains in the Estadio Nacional but has received heavy criticism from clubs of the Peruvian First Division, asking to remove it because of the constant injuries it causes. [citeweb |url=http://www.peru.com/futbol/AutoNoticias/FutbolPortada/2007/11/01/DetalleNoticia96488.asp| title=Vuelven las quejas por el sintético del Nacional | work=futbolperuano.com |accessdate=2007-11-01] This is also the reason why the Peru national football team is not using the stadium for the 2010 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers. The stadium is undergoing renovations. New seats have recently been installed in both the western and eastern stands.

The olympic runnning track became obsolete around the late 90s and in 2008 it was covered with asphalt for rallying for the rally race Caminos del Inca. This was the first time the Estadio Nacional hosted such an event.

Games hosted

All times are UTC-5

2004 Copa America

2005 U-17 World Championship

References

External links

* [http://fpf.org.pe/ Peruvian Football Federation]