The Juan Ramón Loubriel Stadium (Estadio Juan Ramón Loubriel) is a 12,500 seat stadium

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...

 at Route 2 and Route 5, in Bayamón, Puerto Rico

Bayamón, Puerto Rico

Bayamón is a municipality of Puerto Rico located on the northern coastal valley, north of Aguas Buenas and Comerío; south of Toa Baja and Cataño; west of Guaynabo; and east of Toa Alta and Naranjito. Bayamón is spread over 11 wards and Bayamón Pueblo...

. The stadium has easy access with one metro station (known as "Deportivo Station") on premises.

Early life

Built in 1974 and originally used for baseball

Baseball

Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...

, it was home to the "Vaqueros de Bayamón" up until 2003 when the team became defunct.

Football life

In 2003 with the Vaqueros folding the stadium seemed doomed to be relegated to a youth stadium or demolition, but late that same year the stadium was reborn and was to be home for another professional club. However, this time it would be as an association football stadium. It had been chosen by the Puerto Rico Islanders

Puerto Rico Islanders

Puerto Rico Islanders is a Puerto Rican professional football team based in Bayamón, Puerto Rico. Founded in 2003, the team plays in the North American Soccer League , the second tier of the American Soccer Pyramid....

 as their new home. Its "L" shaped stands were not suited for the sport and it originally had an awkward feel to it since the stand behind the goal angles away from the pitch. This has led most of the fans to prefer to sit in the part of the stands that run parallel to the pitch.

Its also home to Bayamon FC

Bayamon FC

Bayamón FC is a football team that joined the Puerto Rico Soccer League for the 2009 season. The team plays in Juan Ramón Loubriel Stadium in Bayamón, Puerto Rico. The team did not participate in the Puerto Rico Soccer League for the 2010 and 2011 seasons due to the league's instability...

, a professional football team in the Puerto Rico Soccer League

Puerto Rico Soccer League

The Puerto Rico Soccer League or PRSL is an association football league in Puerto Rico. It is the first unified football league in the island's history, and had a total of six teams for the 2011 season. Association football has been growing in popularity in recent years, and this is an attempt to...

. It used to be home Sevilla Bayamon FC, now called Sevilla-FC Juncos, after they moved to Juncos

Juncos, Puerto Rico

Juncos is one of the 78 municipalities of Puerto Rico located in the eastern central region of the island, south of Canóvanas and Carolina; southeast of Gurabo; east of San Lorenzo; and west of Las Piedras. Juncos is spread over 9 wards and Juncos Pueblo...

.

It has also played host to the CFU Club Championship

CFU Club Championship

The CFU Club Championship or CFU Club Champions' Cup is the annual international football competition held amongst association football clubs from the Caribbean Islands for clubs that are members of the Caribbean Football Union...

 Group C in 2006, where the Islanders played but lost to Trinidad and Tobago

Trinidad and Tobago

Trinidad and Tobago officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is an archipelagic state in the southern Caribbean, lying just off the coast of northeastern Venezuela and south of Grenada in the Lesser Antilles...

, W Connection

W Connection

Vibe CT 105 Williams Connection is a football club from Trinidad and Tobago, which currently plays in the Pro League. The club plays its home games in Manny Ramjohn Stadium...

 0-1 and the Puerto Rico MLS-USL Challenge

Puerto Rico MLS-USL Challenge

The Puerto Rico USL-MLS Challenge is a preseason invitational football tournament featuring the host club Puerto Rico Islanders, two clubs from Major League Soccer and a USL First Division club. The tournament is played in Juan Ramón Loubriel Stadium in Bayamon, Puerto Rico....

 in 2007, and two 2010 World Cup qualifying matches against the Dominican Republic

Dominican Republic national football team

The Dominican Republic national football team is the national team of Dominican Republic and is controlled by the Dominican Football Federation. Football is not the most popular sport in the country, losing out to baseball by a large margin...

 and Honduras

Honduras national football team

The Honduran national football team, nicknamed Los Catrachos, La Bicolor or La H, is the national team of Honduras and is controlled by the Federación Nacional Autónoma de Fútbol de Honduras...

.

La Meca of Puerto Rican Football

Over the 4 years that it has hosted the sport it has created an atmosphere that is unique to the stadium and the Islanders.

It has played host to the resurgence of association football in Puerto Rico and has been given the nickname "La Meca" because it has been a key player in the sport's rise to popularity in the island.
It is also called "JRL" by fans as an abbreviation of its official name. Another name that has been used for the stadium is "La Islandera" since it's the home of the Islanders.