Estadio Monumental Antonio Vespucio Liberti
Encyclopedia
Estadio Monumental Antonio Vespucio Liberti, is a stadium
in the Belgrano
district of Buenos Aires
, Argentina
at the intersection of Figueroa Alcorta and Udaondo. It is the home venue of Club Atlético River Plate
and is named after former club president Antonio Vespucio Liberti
. El Monumental is considered to be the national stadium
of Argentina.
On May 25, 1935, the cornerstone was laid on the campus of Centennial Avenue and River Plate. On December 1 of that year, the Steering Committee presented the approved project in detail to its members at an assembly. They obtained a loan of $2,500,000 from the government and on September 27, 1936, construction began under the direction of architects José Aslan and Héctor Ezcurra.
The initial cost of work reached the figure of $4,479,545.80, but decreased about 3 million dollars when the committee decided to halt the construction of the north end of the stadium.
A distinctive feature of construction was to be the foundations; six or eight feet deep. This required open pit excavation for the stability of the ground , and pumping bilge water from the site. The construction of the three stands were completed in two years. There are 50 km of steps, with 26,000 square meters of reinforced concrete and almost 3,000 tons of steel. A few years later , during World War II, the steel used would have cost more than the whole stadium.
May was also the month chosen to inaugurate the new stadium. On Wednesday the 25th, about 8,000 people witnessed the placement of an Argentine flag and one from the club, paid for by a group of associates, and sang the national anthem and the progress of River Plate.
The next day, the festival brought together nearly 120,000 spectators. After various activities the great evening was completed with the match played between River and Peñarol from Uruguay, with a 3–1 victory for the home team.
One of the largest attendances in the Monumental was a promotion game between San Lorenzo and Tigre
, in which San Lorenzo (which did not have a stadium at the time) brought 74,000 people to River's stadium. When River played Racing
for the title (after 18 years) 100,000 were present. At the end the 1986 and 1996 Copa Libertadores second-leg finals (both against América de Cali
), seats were added and approximately 85,000 spectators were in attendance. It is also estimated that for the Argentina versus Uruguay 1987 Copa América semifinal more than 87,000 spectators attended.
The total length of the seating in the stands of the stadium is over 70 kilometers.
The stadium complex also has facilities for tennis
, basketball
, and other sports, as well as living quarters for young footballers, a theatre hall, a parking lot, museum etc. It can be accessed by several train and bus lines, as it is located within walking distance from the Barrancas de Belgrano
transportation hub. Contrary to most other stadiums in the Buenos Aires area, there is a sizable car park by the stadium.
usually plays as host, in events such as the FIFA World Cup qualification
.
Rugby union
matches featuring the Argentina national rugby union team
, Los Pumas, also take place occasionally in this field, although the Pumas more frequently play at another Buenos Aires venue, Vélez Sársfield
.
The Monumental also hosted the closing ceremonies and the athletics events of the First Pan American Games
in 1951.
The stadium played host to Amnesty International
's final Human Rights Now! Benefit Concert on October 15, 1988. The show was headlined by Sting and Peter Gabriel
and also featured Bruce Springsteen
& The E Street Band
, Tracy Chapman
, Youssou N'Dour
, León Gieco
and Charly García
.
David Bowie
Sound+Vision Tour was held in September 29, 1990. He sold more than 81,900 tickets from one only show.
On July 16–17, 1993, Guns N' Roses
performed the final concerts of their Use Your Illusion Tour
, marking their last performance with most of their original lineup.
During his Dangerous World Tour
, Michael Jackson
performed 3 sold-out concerts in October 8th, 10th and 12th, 1993, in front of 300,000 spectators.
Seminal punk rock band The Ramones played their final South American show on March 16, 1996.
Soda Stereo
currently holds the record for the highest number of concerts in the stadium. The band played six sold out concerts in 2007, during their Me Veras Volver
Reunion Tour.
Madonna
performed 2 sould-out concerts in October 1993 and another 4 in December 2008, during her Sticky & Sweet Tour
; during two of these concerts, an official DVD
of the tour was filmed. She holds the record for fastest sell out concert at the stadium for her first show, with 3 hours and more than 263,000 tickets sold.
In 2009 the British band Oasis
offer one of the biggest concerts of their history, Noel Gallagher
and the Argentine public sharing an emotional moment, playing "Don't Look Back In Anger
".
AC/DC
performed three sold out shows in December 2009, during their Black Ice World Tour
. These shows were filmed and released on the DVD and Blu-ray Live at River Plate
, released in May 2011.
Legendary New Jersey rockers Bon Jovi
have played the stadium numerous times, most recently in 2010 as part of The Circle Tour
.
In May 2011, Miley Cyrus
brought her Gypsy Heart Tour which sold out in a week.
Roger Waters
is scheduled to perform a record setting nine concerts at the stadium in March 2012. He and his band will be performing The Wall in its entirety on their 2010-2012 The Wall Live
tour.
Stadium
A modern stadium is a place or venue for outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a structure designed to allow spectators to stand or sit and view the event.)Pausanias noted that for about half a century the only event...
in the Belgrano
Belgrano, Buenos Aires
Belgrano is a leafy, northern barrio or neighborhood of the city of Buenos Aires, Argentina.- Location :The barrio of Palermo is to the southeast; Nuñez is to the northwest; Coghlan, Villa Urquiza, Villa Ortúzar and Colegiales are to the southwest....
district of Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
, Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
at the intersection of Figueroa Alcorta and Udaondo. It is the home venue of Club Atlético River Plate
Club Atlético River Plate
Club Atlético River Plate is an Argentine sports club based in the Nuñez neighborhood of Buenos Aires. It is best known for its professional football team, which currently competes in Nacional B, the second tier of Argentine football....
and is named after former club president Antonio Vespucio Liberti
Antonio Vespucio Liberti
Antonio Vespucio Liberti was a former president of Club Atlético River Plate, and is the namesake of their current stadium, Estadio Monumental Antonio Vespucio Liberti....
. El Monumental is considered to be the national stadium
National stadium
Many countries have a national football stadium, which typically serves as the primary or exclusive home for one or more of a country's national representative sports teams. The term is most often used in reference to an association football stadium. Usually, a national stadium will be in or very...
of Argentina.
History
River Plate was founded in 1901 and by 1934, they had won both an amateur and professional championship. At the time the club was known as Los Millonarios, or The Millionaires, because they would purchase players at higher prices than normal at the time. On October 31, 1934, River Plate purchased the land where the club was to build the new stadium in the neighborhood of Nuñez.On May 25, 1935, the cornerstone was laid on the campus of Centennial Avenue and River Plate. On December 1 of that year, the Steering Committee presented the approved project in detail to its members at an assembly. They obtained a loan of $2,500,000 from the government and on September 27, 1936, construction began under the direction of architects José Aslan and Héctor Ezcurra.
The initial cost of work reached the figure of $4,479,545.80, but decreased about 3 million dollars when the committee decided to halt the construction of the north end of the stadium.
A distinctive feature of construction was to be the foundations; six or eight feet deep. This required open pit excavation for the stability of the ground , and pumping bilge water from the site. The construction of the three stands were completed in two years. There are 50 km of steps, with 26,000 square meters of reinforced concrete and almost 3,000 tons of steel. A few years later , during World War II, the steel used would have cost more than the whole stadium.
May was also the month chosen to inaugurate the new stadium. On Wednesday the 25th, about 8,000 people witnessed the placement of an Argentine flag and one from the club, paid for by a group of associates, and sang the national anthem and the progress of River Plate.
The next day, the festival brought together nearly 120,000 spectators. After various activities the great evening was completed with the match played between River and Peñarol from Uruguay, with a 3–1 victory for the home team.
1958
The horseshoe was fully enclosed in 1958, under the club presidency of Enrique Pardo. The new construction, the Colonia stand, was financed by the proceeds from the 10M pesos transfer of Omar Sivori to Juventus of Italy. With these changes the capacity reached 130,000.1978
The accomplishment of the World Cup one of 1978 motivated that – with a lending of the Military Government to River Plate – the stadium was remodelled completely. River Plate was late many years in paying the corresponding quotas due to the changes of currency, which harmed it notably.One of the largest attendances in the Monumental was a promotion game between San Lorenzo and Tigre
Club Atlético Tigre
Club Atlético Tigre is a football club from Victoria, San Fernando Partido, Buenos Aires, Argentina. At the end of the 2006-2007 season the club was promoted to the Primera Division Argentina...
, in which San Lorenzo (which did not have a stadium at the time) brought 74,000 people to River's stadium. When River played Racing
Racing Club de Avellaneda
Racing Club is an Argentine professional football club from Avellaneda, a suburb of Greater Buenos Aires. Founded in 1903, Racing has been historically considered one of the "big five" clubs of Argentine football...
for the title (after 18 years) 100,000 were present. At the end the 1986 and 1996 Copa Libertadores second-leg finals (both against América de Cali
América de Cali
Corporación Deportiva América, commonly known as América de Cali or simply América is a Colombian football club based in Cali. They currently play in the Categoría Primera A, the top-flight professional league in the country....
), seats were added and approximately 85,000 spectators were in attendance. It is also estimated that for the Argentina versus Uruguay 1987 Copa América semifinal more than 87,000 spectators attended.
The total length of the seating in the stands of the stadium is over 70 kilometers.
Facilities
The stadium has room for 57,921 people, and was renewed for the 1978 World Cup; the opening and final matches were both held in the Monumental, which had a capacity of 76,600 at the time because all of the popular stands were standing-only.The stadium complex also has facilities for tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
, basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
, and other sports, as well as living quarters for young footballers, a theatre hall, a parking lot, museum etc. It can be accessed by several train and bus lines, as it is located within walking distance from the Barrancas de Belgrano
Belgrano, Buenos Aires
Belgrano is a leafy, northern barrio or neighborhood of the city of Buenos Aires, Argentina.- Location :The barrio of Palermo is to the southeast; Nuñez is to the northwest; Coghlan, Villa Urquiza, Villa Ortúzar and Colegiales are to the southwest....
transportation hub. Contrary to most other stadiums in the Buenos Aires area, there is a sizable car park by the stadium.
Sporting events held
The Monumental, aside from being where River Plate plays as host team, is also the stadium where the Argentine National Football TeamArgentina national football team
The Argentina national football team represents Argentina in association football and is controlled by the Argentine Football Association , the governing body for football in Argentina. Argentina's home stadium is Estadio Monumental Antonio Vespucio Liberti and their head coach is Alejandro...
usually plays as host, in events such as the FIFA World Cup qualification
FIFA World Cup qualification
The FIFA World Cup qualification is the process that a national association football team goes through to qualify for the FIFA World Cup Finals. The FIFA World Cup is a global event, so qualification is required to reduce the large field of participants from about 200 to 32.Qualifying tournaments...
.
Rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
matches featuring the Argentina national rugby union team
Argentina national rugby union team
The Argentina national rugby team, nicknamed Los Pumas, represents Argentina in international rugby union matches. The team, which plays in sky blue and white jerseys, is organised by the Argentine Rugby Union .Argentina played its first international rugby match in 1910 against a touring British...
, Los Pumas, also take place occasionally in this field, although the Pumas more frequently play at another Buenos Aires venue, Vélez Sársfield
Estadio José Amalfitani
The Estadio José Amalfitani is a stadium located in the Liniers neighbourhood of Buenos Aires, Argentina. The venue is mainly used for football matches and is the home of the Argentine Primera División club Vélez Sársfield. The stadium is nicknamed El Fortín or El Fortín de Liniers...
.
The Monumental also hosted the closing ceremonies and the athletics events of the First Pan American Games
1951 Pan American Games
The 1951 Pan American Games were held in Buenos Aires, Argentina between 25 February-9 March 1951. The Pan American Games' origins were at the Games of the X Olympiad in Los Angeles, United States, where officials representing the National Olympic Committees of the Americas discussed the staging...
in 1951.
Concerts
When an international music superstar or band comes to Buenos Aires, their concerts are usually held in this stadium, as it is the biggest in the city and in all of Argentina.The stadium played host to Amnesty International
Amnesty International
Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
's final Human Rights Now! Benefit Concert on October 15, 1988. The show was headlined by Sting and Peter Gabriel
Peter Gabriel
Peter Brian Gabriel is an English singer, musician, and songwriter who rose to fame as the lead vocalist and flautist of the progressive rock group Genesis. After leaving Genesis, Gabriel went on to a successful solo career...
and also featured Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen , nicknamed "The Boss," is an American singer-songwriter who records and tours with the E Street Band...
& The E Street Band
E Street Band
The E Street Band has been rock musician Bruce Springsteen's primary backing band since 1972.The band has also recorded with a wide range of other artists including Bob Dylan, Meat Loaf, Bonnie Tyler, Air Supply, Dire Straits, David Bowie, Peter Gabriel, Stevie Nicks, Tom Morello, Sting, Ian...
, Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman is an American singer-songwriter, best known for her singles "Fast Car", "Talkin' 'bout a Revolution", "Baby Can I Hold You", "Give Me One Reason" and "Telling Stories". She is a multi-platinum and four-time Grammy Award-winning artist.-Biography:Tracy Chapman was born in Cleveland,...
, Youssou N'Dour
Youssou N'Dour
Youssou N'Dour is a Senegalese singer, percussionist and occasional actor. In 2004, Rolling Stone described him as, in Senegal and much of Africa, "perhaps the most famous singer alive." He helped develop a style of popular music in Senegal, known in the Serer language as mbalax, a type of music...
, León Gieco
León Gieco
Raúl Alberto Antonio Gieco, better known as León Gieco is a pop-folk music composer and interpreter. He is known for mixing popular folkloric genres with Argentine rock, and for lyrics with social and political connotations...
and Charly García
Charly García
Charly García is a singer-songwriter, pianist and keyboardist from Argentina with a long career in rock music, forming successful groups such as Sui Generis and Serú Girán, cult status groups like La Máquina de Hacer Pájaros, and as a solo musician.-Early years:Charly García was the eldest son in...
.
David Bowie
David Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
Sound+Vision Tour was held in September 29, 1990. He sold more than 81,900 tickets from one only show.
On July 16–17, 1993, Guns N' Roses
Guns N' Roses
Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band, formed in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, in 1985. The band has released six studio albums, three EPs, and one live album...
performed the final concerts of their Use Your Illusion Tour
Use Your Illusion Tour
The Use Your Illusion Tour was a concert tour by the rock band Guns N' Roses which ran from January 20, 1991 to July 17, 1993. It was not only the band's longest tour, but one of the longest concert tours in rock history, consisting of 194 shows in 27 countries...
, marking their last performance with most of their original lineup.
During his Dangerous World Tour
Dangerous World Tour
The Dangerous World Tour was the second worldwide concert tour by American megasuperstar Michael Jackson. The tour, sponsored by Pepsi-Cola, included 69 performances to an audience of 3.5 million. All profits were donated to various charities including Jackson's own "Heal the World Foundation". The...
, Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
performed 3 sold-out concerts in October 8th, 10th and 12th, 1993, in front of 300,000 spectators.
Seminal punk rock band The Ramones played their final South American show on March 16, 1996.
Soda Stereo
Soda Stereo
Soda Stereo were an Argentine rock band who are recognized as one of the most influential and important Latin American and Ibero-American bands of all time...
currently holds the record for the highest number of concerts in the stadium. The band played six sold out concerts in 2007, during their Me Veras Volver
Me Verás Volver
Me Verás Volver is a compilation album released in July, 2007 by Argentine rock band Soda Stereo. The album shares the name with their comeback tour that started on October of the same year.-Track listing:# Sobredosis de TV – 4:11...
Reunion Tour.
Madonna
Madonna (entertainer)
Madonna is an American singer-songwriter, actress and entrepreneur. Born in Bay City, Michigan, she moved to New York City in 1977 to pursue a career in modern dance. After performing in the music groups Breakfast Club and Emmy, she released her debut album in 1983...
performed 2 sould-out concerts in October 1993 and another 4 in December 2008, during her Sticky & Sweet Tour
Sticky & Sweet Tour
The Sticky & Sweet Tour was the eighth worldwide concert tour by American singer Madonna to promote her eleventh studio album, Hard Candy. It began in August 2008 and was Madonna's first tour from her new recording and business deal with Live Nation. The tour was announced in February 2008, with...
; during two of these concerts, an official DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
of the tour was filmed. She holds the record for fastest sell out concert at the stadium for her first show, with 3 hours and more than 263,000 tickets sold.
In 2009 the British band Oasis
Oasis (band)
Oasis were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1991. Originally known as The Rain, the group was formed by Liam Gallagher , Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs , Paul "Guigsy" McGuigan and Tony McCarroll , who were soon joined by Liam's older brother Noel Gallagher...
offer one of the biggest concerts of their history, Noel Gallagher
Noel Gallagher
Noel Thomas David Gallagher is an English musician and singer-songwriter, formerly the lead guitarist, backing vocalist and principal songwriter of the English rock band Oasis. He is currently fronting his solo project, Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds.Raised in Burnage, Manchester with his...
and the Argentine public sharing an emotional moment, playing "Don't Look Back In Anger
Don't Look Back in Anger
"Don't Look Back in Anger" is a song by English rock band Oasis, released in 1996 as the fourth single from their hit second album Morning Glory?. The song was written by the band's guitarist and main songwriter, Noel Gallagher. The song became the band's second single to reach #1 in the UK...
".
AC/DC
AC/DC
AC/DC are an Australian rock band, formed in 1973 by brothers Malcolm and Angus Young. Commonly classified as hard rock, they are considered pioneers of heavy metal, though they themselves have always classified their music as simply "rock and roll"...
performed three sold out shows in December 2009, during their Black Ice World Tour
Black Ice World Tour
Black Ice World Tour was a 2008/2009/2010 concert tour by Australian rock band AC/DC in support of the group's 15th studio album, Black Ice, which was released in October 2008. The tour was the band's first since the Stiff Upper Lip World Tour in 2000/2001.The jaunt began in Wilkes-Barre,...
. These shows were filmed and released on the DVD and Blu-ray Live at River Plate
Live at River Plate
Live at River Plate is a live concert DVD documenting AC/DC’s Black Ice World Tour. The DVD includes footage from three concerts performed in December 2009 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It was directed by David Mallet, with Rocky Oldham as producer...
, released in May 2011.
Legendary New Jersey rockers Bon Jovi
Bon Jovi
Bon Jovi is an American rock band from Sayreville, New Jersey. Formed in 1983, Bon Jovi consists of lead singer and namesake Jon Bon Jovi , guitarist Richie Sambora, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, as well as current bassist Hugh McDonald...
have played the stadium numerous times, most recently in 2010 as part of The Circle Tour
The Circle Tour
The Circle Tour is a worldwide concert tour by American rock band Bon Jovi. The arena leg of the tour has finished and the stadium run has begun, starting off in Hershey, Pennsylvania, and then heading to East Rutherford, New Jersey for the grand opening of New Meadowlands Stadium...
.
In May 2011, Miley Cyrus
Miley Cyrus
Miley Ray Cyrus is an American actress and pop singer-songwriter. She achieved wide fame for her role as Miley Stewart/Hannah Montana on the Disney Channel sitcom Hannah Montana....
brought her Gypsy Heart Tour which sold out in a week.
Roger Waters
Roger Waters
George Roger Waters is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. He was a founding member of the progressive rock band Pink Floyd, serving as bassist and co-lead vocalist. Following the departure of bandmate Syd Barrett in 1968, Waters became the band's lyricist, principal songwriter...
is scheduled to perform a record setting nine concerts at the stadium in March 2012. He and his band will be performing The Wall in its entirety on their 2010-2012 The Wall Live
The Wall Live (2010–2011 tour)
The Wall Live is a worldwide concert tour by Roger Waters, formerly of Pink Floyd. The tour is the first time the Pink Floyd album The Wall has been performed in its entirety by the band or any of its former members since Waters performed the album live in Berlin 21 July 1990...
tour.
1978 FIFA World Cup
The stadium served as venue for the following matches during the world cup:| Date | Round | Group | Team 1 | Vs. | Team 2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 1 | 1 | 2 | 0–0 | ||
| June 2 | 1 | 1 | 2–1 | ||
| June 6 | 1 | 1 | 2–1 | ||
| June 10 | 1 | 1 | 1–0 | ||
| June 14 | 2 | A | 0–0 | ||
| June 18 | 2 | A | 1–0 | ||
| June 21 | 2 | A | 2–1 | ||
| June 24 | Third place | 2–1 | |||
| June 25 | Final 1978 FIFA World Cup Final The Final of the 1978 FIFA World Cup was contested between hosts Argentina and The Netherlands. The match was won by the Argentines in extra time by a score of 3–1. Mario Kempes, who finished as the tournament's top scorer, was named the man of the match... |
3–1 (AET) |
See also
- Club Atlético River PlateClub Atlético River PlateClub Atlético River Plate is an Argentine sports club based in the Nuñez neighborhood of Buenos Aires. It is best known for its professional football team, which currently competes in Nacional B, the second tier of Argentine football....
- Antonio Vespucio LibertiAntonio Vespucio LibertiAntonio Vespucio Liberti was a former president of Club Atlético River Plate, and is the namesake of their current stadium, Estadio Monumental Antonio Vespucio Liberti....
- List of association football stadiums by capacity
