Estadio Cuscatlán
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| Full name | Monumental Estadio Cuscatlan |
|---|---|
| Location | San Salvador, El Salvador |
| Coordinates | 13°40′52″N 89°13′20″W / 13.6810°N 89.2222°W |
| Owner | EDESSA |
| Operator | EDESSA |
| Capacity | 44,836 |
| Record attendance | 55,000 |
| Field size | 107 x 68.5 |
| Field shape | lawn and French drain |
| Surface | Lawn |
| Scoreboard | digital and electronic |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | 24 March 1971 |
| Built | 19 October 1975 |
| Opened | 24 July 1976 |
| Renovated | 2007–2011 |
| Construction cost | 4.800.000 Colones |
| Architect | López Muñoz and Architects. |
| Project manager | EDESSA |
| Structural engineer | López Muñoz and Architects. |
| Services engineer | Simán S. A. |
| General contractor | Simán S. A. |
| Main contractors | Technical Construction, Investment and Securities S.A. |
| Tenants | |
| El Salvador national football team Alianza F.C. Atlético Marte | |
The Estadio Cuscatlán is a football stadium located in the city of San Salvador, El Salvador. It was inaugurated in 1976. It can hold 53,400 spectators, making it the stadium with the largest spectator capacity in Central America and the Caribbean.[1] The stadium has undergone sveral renovations, including in 1997, 2007, 2008, 2015, with the change of colors alluding to the country's flag (blue and white), and the most recent in 2020, with the installation of a new screen 100m² 4K LED and 54 new 1,500-watt metal halide luminaires with a capacity of 1,000 luxes, and an automated irrigation system.
History
Cuscatlán stadium was first developed as a replacement to what at the time was El Salvador's largest stadium, Estadio Nacional de la Flor Blanca (now known as Estadio Jorge "Mágico" González). Its creation was made possible by EDESSA (Estadios Deportivos de El Salvador) who in 1969 first proposed the idea of a new national stadium.
Construction began on 24 March 1971, with then-president of El Salvador General Fidel Sánchez Hernández laying the first stone. After 5 years of building, the stadium was opened and held its first game on 24 July 1976. This day saw German Bundesliga champions Borussia Mönchengladbach play the El Salvador national team, with the match ending 2–0 to the German side.
On 25 May 1978, EDESSA agreed to and signed a 599-year lease of the stadium to CLIMA (Asociación de Clubes de Liga Mayor A'). As a result, CLIMA is now the operator of the stadium, and controls what events are held there.
The stadium
The stadium, with a capacity of 53,400 is the largest football venue in El Salvador and Central America.
It was announced on 16 November 2007 that Estadio Cuscatlán would become the first football stadium in Central America and Caribbean to have a large LED screen where the supporters can view the action. The screen is 40 meters in height and width and was completed in March 2008.[2]
The modernization also extends to the pitch, which includes:
- French drainage system to allow water to flow off the grounds when it rains excessively
- 6 sprinkler systems to self water the grounds
- Dugouts for both home and away teams, each with its own lavatory
- Imported high quality grass
- Various V.I.P. boxes
Facilities and capacity
The stadium's capacity has been the topic of much dispute, with many saying that its official capacity is not accurate. As the stadium only has seats available in certain sections, it is difficult to estimate the maximum capacity when trying to take into account how many spectators could fit into the sections without seats. The seating capacity is between 45,000 and 53,400 people. FIFA regulates the capacity, setting a maximum of about 45,000.
The stadium has the following distribution on its premises:
| Localidad | Color | FIFA | EDESSA |
|---|---|---|---|
| Platea | Sky Blue | 2,013 | 3,000 |
| Northern Tribune | Brown | 1,672 | 2,500 |
| South Tribune | Blue | 1,709 | 2,500 |
| North Shadow | Green | 4,900 | 5,000 |
| South Shadow | Yellow | 2,500 | 4,000 |
| North Preference Sun | Black | 4,220 | 5,200 |
| South Preference Sun | Orange | 6,044 | 7,800 |
| General Sun | Vermilion | 16,278 | 18,000 |
| Box | White | 3,400 | 3,400 |
| Extras | Walls | 2,000 | 2,000 |
| TOTAL | 44,836 | 53,400 |
Cuscatlán Stadium also has the following specifications:
- 15 access tickets to the Stadium.
- 3 accesses to the stadium boxes
- 10 ticket offices available for ticket sales.
- Sectors: Platea, north and south grandstand, north and south shade, north and south preferred sun and general sun
- It has a French drainage system.
- New automated sprinkler irrigation system, which has 12 sprinklers inside the field of play and 18 on the perimeter, dividing the irrigation by zones and optimizing the water.
- 10 m² 4K LED screen
- 560 boxes.[3]
- 4 fully equipped dressing rooms and an equipped gym.
- 2 Dug out with capacity for 20 players each
- A giant screen of 100 m² LED 4K[4] high definition.
- 6 robotic cameras strategically placed in the stadium for the transmission on the giant screen.
- Internal sound system technology Dolby Digital Surround 24 thousand watts.
- 16 booths for radio and television.
- Press room
- 3 electric lighting towers, which have 22 headlights in the north and south towers and 26 headlights in the center and all with 10 halogens each.
- The stadium lighting system has been reinforced with the installation of 170 new 1,500-watt metal halide lamps with a capacity of 1,000 lux.
- An 11 soccer field
- Two fast soccer fields
- Four futsal fields
- Parking for 2,500 vehicles.
- The only stadium nationwide that meets FIFA requirements for international matches
The grounds
The stadium itself sits on an area of land roughly 15 square blocks (30 hectares) in size. Not only does it accommodate the stadium itself, with its parking lot (8,500 cars capacity), but also two other football pitches. One of these is used for training by club sides, to limit damage to the stadium ground itself. The other ground is used for junior football. A beach soccer field is set to be built within the next months, the main idea is becoming Estadio Cuscatlán a sport venue.
Events
Although Cuscatlán stadium was primarily built to be just a football stadium, it is now also used to cater for other events. Apart from football, it is also used for concerts, cultural events, religious events and political rallies. In 2005, Colgate broke the World Record of most people brushing their teeth at the same time in this stadium.[5]
- El Salvador national football team
- FIFA World Cup qualification
- UNCAF Nations Cup 1995–2007
- Concerts
See also
References
- ^ Confederation of Note, Central America and the Caribbean. Football Association http://www.concacaf.com
- ^ Article on new LED screen (in Spanish). Retrieved 9 December 2006.
- ^ Reference number of boxes [1]
- ^ New improvements to the Stadium -high-quality-in-game-alliance-fas/
- ^ "Most people brushing their teeth" (Guinness World Records)
External links
Media related to Estadio Cuscatlán at Wikimedia Commons