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Estadio Único Madre de Ciudades

Coordinates: 27°45′58.00″S 64°16′12.00″W / 27.7661111°S 64.2700000°W / -27.7661111; -64.2700000
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Unique Madre de Ciudades Stadium
Estadio Único Madre de Ciudades
Estadio Único de Santiago del Estero
Exterior view of the stadium
Map
Full nameEstadio Único Madre de Ciudades
LocationBelgrano Avenue, Santiago del Estero, Argentina
OwnerGovernment of Santiago del Estero
Capacity30,000 (expandable to 42,000)
Field size105 x 70 m
SurfaceGrass
Construction
BuiltJune 2018 – May 2020
Opened4 March 2021; 3 years ago (2021-03-04) [1][2]
Construction costAR$ 1,500 million[3]
ArchitectLuciani Asociados Arquitectos – Enrique Lombardi[1]
BuilderMIJOVI
Astori[3]
Tenants

The Estadio Único Madre de Ciudades is a football stadium located in the city of Santiago del Estero in the homonymous province of Argentina. The stadium was inaugurated on 4 March 2021, before the 2019 Supercopa Argentina match contested by River Plate and Racing Club. President of Argentina Alberto Fernández attended the ceremony.[1]

The Estadio Único was expected to host some matches during the binational 2020 Copa América to be held in Argentina and Colombia.[2] However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the tournament was rescheduled to 2021 and eventually moved to Brazil. The stadium held its first international match on 3 June 2021, hosting the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification match between Chile and Argentina.

The stadium, the largest venue in the province, is owned and administered by the provincial government and has a seating capacity of over 30,000 spectators. The stadium facilities include a restaurant, a museum, a game room, and parking lots.[3]

History

[edit]
The stadium being built during January 2020

On 13 April 2018, Santiago del Estero's governor Gerardo Zamora, along with the Argentine Football Association (AFA)'s president Claudio Tapia, presented a new stadium project in the province, which was accepted. Both authorities signed an agreement for the stadium to host qualification matches for the Argentina national football team and to be nominated as one of the host stadiums during the 2021 Copa América, since Argentina and Colombia were organizing the event.

Santiago del Estero governor Gerardo Zamora and Argentine president Alberto Fernández at the inauguration of the Estadio Único on 4 March 2021

Another objective for the stadium is to be one of the potential hosts of the 2030 FIFA World Cup if the Southern Cone's bid is chosen as the winning venue to host it by FIFA.

Construction started in June 2018, and in July 2019, the Estadio Único was confirmed as one of the hosts of the 2021 Copa América. However, in November of that year, CONMEBOL questioned that nomination after seeing the low progresson construction. Finally, on 3 December 2019, the stadium was again confirmed to be one of the hosts of the final tournament.

After the draw, the stadium was scheduled to host two matches, between Uruguay and Paraguay and Chile national football team against Paraguay, on 27 June. However, the immediate emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic worldwide disrupted the tournament's organization, so the cup was postponed to the next year. In May 2020, the stadium was chosen to host the Copa Sudamericana finals for three years, and in August, CONMEBOL gave the stadium a match between the Chile national football team and Paraguay on 23 June 2021.

Name

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The stadium was named "Estadio Único Madre de Ciudades" (in English, Mother of Cities Stadium). This name was chosen as a tribute to Santiago del Estero, founded on 25 July 1553. As the oldest city of Argentina, it gained the nickname "Madre de Ciudades", which was used by the Spanish Empire before founding more cities across northern Argentina.[4]

Features

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In 2010, the architect and former president of Estudiantes de La Plata, Enrique Lombardi,[1] named the project as the winner of a local competition. The stadium was built on a site located to the north of the city of Santiago del Estero on the banks of the Dulce River. The land is surrounded by Carretero Bridge and the city's botanical garden, and is connected to the Tren al Desarrollo by a station.

The project itself consists of a cylindrical stadium with fully covered grandstands, with a capacity of 29,000 seated spectators. It includes VIP sectors, restaurant spaces and a covered parking lot with a capacity for 400 cars. In addition, the stadium was designed with a main access plaza, a sports museum and a press area. The design complies with FIFA, CONMEBOL and AFA standards. The plaza includes a bronze statue of Diego Maradona measuring 5 metres (16 ft).[5]

Sporting events

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Football

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The first notable event held in the stadium was the 2019 Supercopa Argentina played by River Plate against Racing Club on 4 March 2021. The stadium was expected to host some matches of the 2021 Copa América,[1] but the tournament was eventually moved to Brazil. The stadium is expected to host some matches of the 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup.

2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup

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Date Time
(UTC−03)
Team 1 Result Team 2 Round Attendance
20 May 2023 15:00  Guatemala 0–1  New Zealand Group A 15,100
20 May 2023 18:00  Argentina 2–1  Uzbekistan Group A 37,233
23 May 2023 15:00  Uzbekistan 2–2  New Zealand Group A 12,243
23 May 2023 18:00  Argentina 3–0  Guatemala Group A 37,033
26 May 2023 15:00  Ecuador 9–0  Fiji Group B 9,958
26 May 2023 18:00  Uzbekistan 2–0  Guatemala Group A 15,357
1 Jun 2023 14:30  Gambia 0–1  Uruguay Round of 16 7,644
1 Jun 2023 18:00  Ecuador 2–3  South Korea Round of 16 12,492
4 Jun 2023 14:30  South Korea 1–0 (a.e.t.)  Nigeria Quarter-finals 10,298
4 Jun 2023 18:00  United States 0–2  Uruguay Quarter-finals 18,474

Argentina matches and domestic cups finals

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Date Time
(UTC−03)
Event Team #1 Res. Team #2 Attend.
5 Mar 2021 22:10 2019 Supercopa Argentina Argentina Racing
0–5
Argentina River Plate
3 Jun 2021 21:00 2022 World Cup Qualification  Argentina
1–1
 Chile
8 Dec 2021 21:10 2020 Copa Argentina Final Argentina Talleres (C)
0–0 (4–5 p)
Argentina Boca Juniors 30,000
18 Dec 2021 21:10 2021 Trofeo de Campeones Argentina River Plate
4–0
Argentina Colón
1 Mar 2023 21:15 2022 Supercopa Argentina Argentina Boca Juniors
3–0
Argentina Patronato
28 Mar 2023 20:30 Friendly  Argentina
7–0
 Curaçao 42.000

Rugby

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The stadium hosted its first ever international rugby union match as Argentina hosted Scotland on Saturday 16 July in the third test match of a three test series between the two sides during the 2022 July rugby union tests.

Date Event Team #1 Result Team #2 Attendance Ref.
16 Jul 2022 2022 mid-year test  Argentina
34–31
 Scotland
30,000
[6]
21 Sep 2024 2024 Rugby Championship  Argentina
29–28
 South Africa [6]
Notes
  1. ^ a b No spectators allowed because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Controversy

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The construction of the stadium received criticism by some parts of the press for being carried out in the midst of the economic crisis that plagued the country, the government's struggle to restructure Argentina's debt. The stadium was also criticized for being considered a priority of the provincial government, ahead of the existing poverty situation in the province of Santiago del Estero (about 70%). According to the INDEC, Santiago del Estero ranks first in the provinces in a critical state of unemployment throughout Argentina and ranks relatively low compared to other provinces on the Human Development Index.[3]

The provincial governor, Gerardo Zamora, defended the construction of the stadium by arguing it helped promote Santiago del Estero as a "headquarters for international football" and a "tourism hotspot", as well as by citing the direct and indirect creation of jobs in its construction process.[7]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e Cristófalo, Ariel (4 March 2021). "Alberto inauguró el Estadio Único". Olé (in Spanish). Retrieved 15 January 2023.
  2. ^ a b "Fernández inauguró el Estadio "Madre de Ciudades", donde jugará la Selección". Télam (in Spanish). 4 March 2021. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
  3. ^ a b c d Rodríguez, Leonel (17 February 2021). "La defensa de la provincia al estadio de los $1500 millones". La Nación (in Spanish). Retrieved 15 January 2023.
  4. ^ "Santiago del Estero, la "Madre de ciudades" argentinas, celebra 468 años de su fundación". Télam (in Spanish). 25 July 2021. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
  5. ^ La imponente estatua de Diego Maradona en el Madre de Ciudades
  6. ^ a b Las sedes de las funciones en casa on UAR, 11 Apr 2024
  7. ^ "Zamora y Tapia firman convenio para la construcción el estadio único". Santiago Digital (in Spanish). 13 April 2018. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
[edit]
Preceded by
(various venues in
Poland)
FIFA U-20 World Cup
2023
Succeeded by
TBD

27°45′58.00″S 64°16′12.00″W / 27.7661111°S 64.2700000°W / -27.7661111; -64.2700000