National Stadium of Peru

The National Stadium of Peru, popularly known as José Díaz Stadium, National Stadium of Lima or simply National Stadium, is a multipurpose stadium located in the neighborhood of Santa Beatriz, in the district of Lima, belonging to the Peruvian capital of the same name.

According to ITSE Certificate No. 088-2016-IPD, it has a capacity for 43,086 spectators: 39,635 in its four grandstands and 3,451 in the box-suites. Many people, including sportswriters, call it &# 34;The Colossus of José Díaz", due to the adjoining street that bears the name of that soldier, who belonged to the Army of the Andes.

The National Stadium is the venue where the Peruvian Soccer Team plays at home. It also hosted the opening and closing ceremonies of the Lima 2019 Pan American Games and the opening ceremony of the Lima 2019 Parapan American Games.

The National Stadium is where the most Copa Libertadores matches have been played in Peru and is the third in South America. Along with the Monumental Stadium, they are the only stadiums in Peru to have official logos.

History

Old National Stadium

On the land located in the neighborhood of Santa Beatriz, in the District of Lima, adjacent to the Paseo de la República and what is currently the Parque de la Reserva, there had been a stadium with wooden stands since 1897 that was donated to the Peru by the British government. This small stadium, sometimes called the Stadium Nacional, witnessed the beginnings of soccer in the country. It was also the subject of some extensions that, however, were not sufficient for the number of fans who came to said stage on a weekly basis.

Construction

Ancient view of the northern tribune and the tower Miguel Dasso.

In 1951, the president of the Sociedad de Beneficencia de Lima, Miguel Dasso encouraged the construction of a new stadium to replace the small "Nacional". At that time, Peru was enjoying a "fever" of monumental constructions promoted by its president, General Manuel A. Odría. The new stadium was projected to have a capacity of 53,000 spectators and would be entirely made of concrete. The construction was supported by the State and had such a good rhythm that on October 27, 1952 it was inaugurated by President Odría. For the inauguration, the Bolivian team was invited, with a result in favor of the Bolivians by 1 goal against 0. The old wooden stands that the old stadium had went to the Lolo Fernández Stadium of Universitario de Deportes, where they were used until the year 2000.

The two popular stands (north and south) housed approximately 16,000 spectators each and the preferential stands (east and west) had three trays (high, low and intermediate). The main structure of the stadium is maintained to this day and has a tower in the north stand as a distinctive element. This tower was left in disuse until 2004, when it was renovated for the Copa América.

Likewise, considering the size of the colossus, facilities were also built within its facilities for the practice of other sports such as boxing, swimming and athletics, as well as administrative offices for the Peruvian Sports Institute and other sports federations.

Record attendance

The time when most people entered this colossus to watch a soccer match was in 1959, when Peru faced their counterpart England. The match ended 4-1 in favor of the local team and the attendance was 50,306 spectators.

Tragedy (1964)

On May 24, 1964, Peru and Argentina faced each other in the qualifying final for the Tokyo Olympics. That day it was played in a packed National Stadium, with an official attendance of 47,197 spectators. The selected one of Argentina won one to zero; with six minutes to go until the end of the match, Peru scored a tie at one. However, the Uruguayan referee, Mr. Ángel Eduardo Pazos, annulled the equalizing goal. The decision provoked an outburst of rage, and several fans took to the field to attack the referee. The policemen released the dogs, which pounced on the local supporters. All this caused the death of 328 people, while another 500 were injured.

Following this incident, the capacity of the National Stadium had to be reduced from 53,000 to 45,000 spectators. The absence of an adequate evacuation system and an emergency system in accordance with the human capacity of the stadium in those years caused these painful losses.

Recent Years

November 2010: External removal of the west rostrum.

In addition to the tower located in the north stand, another characteristic element of the National Stadium is that it has carved on its façade the names of prominent Peruvian athletes who were awarded the "sports laurels ", an award given by the government to all those people who, in international competitions, obtained important achievements for Peruvian sports.

On its pitch, like few stadiums, teams from all over the world have played (from Real Madrid to the Belarusian team) and the most outstanding players for the fans (Pelé, Diego Armando Maradona, etc). Until the mid-1990s, Nacional was the venue for the large number of matches of the Decentralized Tournament in the traditional triplets; however, with the construction of new stadiums in the capital, it began to host only the most important matches.

On August 27, 2005, an artificial grass was inaugurated for the U-17 World Championship that took place in Peru.

On October 31, 2008, the so-called "Alameda del Deporte" was inaugurated, uniting two of the most emblematic stadiums in the city: the Alejandro Villanueva Stadium and the National Stadium. also boost the urban development of the area, advance economically and increase commercialization in the Victorian district. The work began to be carried out on May 13, 2007 with an approximate investment of one million fifty thousand nuevos soles, whose financing was provided by the Ministry of Housing and the Municipality of La Victoria, which contributed seven hundred and fifty three hundred thousand soles. respectively. The modification included eight blocks: from the "Vía Expresa" of the Paseo de la República, location of the National Stadium; to the Mendoza Merino street, where the Alejandro Villanueva Stadium is located.

Remodeling

Exterior view of the refurbished National Stadium.Interior view of the refurbished National Stadium.

The Peruvian Sports Institute (IPD) and the National Engineering University (UNI) signed an agreement to remodel and expand the stadium, renovate the athletic track and remodel the stadium offices. This remodeling began with an initial budget of 29 million soles but when the project was finished the total cost was approximately 206 million soles, almost 700% more than what was budgeted and with a duration of more than two years.

The new structure that the National Stadium would have was presented by the president of the Peruvian Sports Institute (IPD), Arturo Woodman, before the Assembly of the Pan American Sports Organization (PASO).

According to Arturo Woodman, the stadium has a modern sound system just like the most important stadiums in the world, it also has a technological system based on state-of-the-art equipment, where fans can buy their tickets online. Another advantage of this great implementation is that it will allow international transmissions to be output from a single administration, giving a considerable income to the IPD coffers and avoiding leaks due to outsourcing of this service. On the other hand, Gastón Acurio was proposed to install one of his famous restaurants & # 34; La Mar & # 34; in the southern part of the stadium.

The National Stadium was reopened on July 24, 2011 with a friendly match between the under-20 teams of Peru and Spain, which ended tied 0-0. President Alan García Pérez was present at the ceremony, under whose mandate the project to modernize the facility was approved. The players of the Peruvian Soccer Team (main) who arrived from Argentina after having obtained 3rd place in the Copa América that same year also made an appearance. And officially in an international match valid for the Copa Sudamericana in November 2011.

The National Stadium hosted the Opening and Closing ceremonies of the Lima 2019 Pan American Games and the Lima 2019 Parapan American Games.

Transportation

Service		Station	Distance to the stadium
Metropolitan	Regular	National Stadium Station	50 m.
Metropolitan	Express	National Stadium Station	50 m.
Blue Corridor	301 303 305 306	Av. Arequipa	100 m.

Events

America's Cup

The National Stadium of Peru hosted 7 matches of said continental competition, between July 6 and 25: four in the First round, two in the Semifinal and finally the Final.

First round

6 July 2004	ColombiaCOL	1:0 (1:0)	VENVenezuela	National Stadium, Lima
	Moreno 21'			Assistance: 45 000 spectators Arbitrator: Márcio Rezende (Brazil)

6 July 2004	PeruPER	2:2 (0:1)	BOLBolivia	National Stadium, Lima
	Pizarro 68' Palaces 86'		36' Botero 57' Álvarez	Assistance: 45 000 spectators Arbitrator: Héctor Baldassi (Argentina)

9 July 2004	ColombiaCOL	1:0 (0:0)	BOLBolivia	National Stadium, Lima
	Perea 90'			Assistance: 35 000 spectators Arbitrator: Pedro Ramos (Ecuador)

9 July 2004	PeruPER	3:1 (1:0)	VENVenezuela	National Stadium, Lima
	Farfán 34' Solano 62' It's coming. 72'		74' Margiotta	Assistance: 43 000 spectators Arbitrator: Rubén Selman (Chile)

Semi-finals

20 July 2004	ArgentinaARG	3:0 (1:0)	COLColombia	National Stadium, Lima
	Tevez 23' L. González 51' Sorin 80's			Assistance: 42 000 spectators Arbitrator: Gilberto Hidalgo (Peru)

21 July 2004	BrazilBRA	1:1 (0:1) (5:3 p.)	URUUruguay	National Stadium, Lima
	Adriano 46'		22' Sosa	Assistance: 40 000 spectators Arbitrator: Marco Antonio Rodríguez (Mexico)
		Shooting from the penal point
	Luisão Luís Fabiano Adriano Renato Alex		Silva Viera Pouso Sánchez

Ending

25 July 2004	ArgentinaARG	2:2 (1:1) (2:4 p.)	BRABrazil	National Stadium, Lima
	K. González 21' (pen.) C. Delgado 87'		45' Luisão 90+3' Adriano	Assistance: 49 000 spectators Arbitrator: Carlos Amarilla (Paraguay)
		Shooting from the penal point
	D'Alessandro Heinze K. González Sorin		Adriano Edú Diego Juan

U17 Soccer World Cup

The National Stadium of Peru hosted 7 matches of said world competition, between September 16 and October 2: four in the First phase, in the dispute for Third place and in the Final.

First phase

16 September 2005, 14:15	UruguayURU	0:2 (0:0)	MEXMexico	National Stadium, Lima
			47' Go. 54' Villaluz	Attendance: 8000 spectators Arbitrator: Alain Hamer (Luxembourg)

16 September 2005, 17:00	TurkeyTUR	1:0 (0:0)	AUSAustralia	National Stadium, Lima
	Sahin 84'			Assistance: 14 200 spectators Arbitrator: Kevin Stott (United States)

19 September 2005, 15:30	MexicoMEX	3:0 (2:0)	AUSAustralia	National Stadium, Lima
	Spread 20' Go. 43' 79'			Assistance: 6000 viewers Arbitrator: Horacio Elizondo (Argentina)

19 September 2005, 18:15	UruguayURU	2:3 (1:1)	TURTurkey	National Stadium, Lima
	Duruer 28' (a.g.) Figueroa 78'		12' Deniz 80's Özgürcan 84' Tevfik	Assistance: 4000 viewers Arbitrator: Mourad Daami (Tunisia)

23 September 2005, 18:15	GambiaGAM	0:2 (0:1)	NEDNetherlands	National Stadium, Lima
			33' Goossens 72' Marcellis	Assistance: 17 000 spectators Arbitrator: Jorge Larrionda (Uruguay)

Third place

2 October 2005, 15:00	NetherlandsNED	2:1 (1:0)	TURTurkey	National Stadium, Lima
	Goossens 13' 88'		90' Şahin	Assistance: 35 000 spectators Arbitrator: Jorge Larrionda (Uruguay)

Ending

2 October 2005, 18:00	MexicoMEX	3:0 (2:0)	BRABrazil	National Stadium, Lima
	Go. 31' Spread 33' Guzmán 86'			Assistance: 40 000 spectators Arbitrator: Frank de Bleeckere (Belgium)

Concerts

Soda Stereo in 2007

Due to its large capacity, the National Stadium is a recurring setting for major musical events that take place in Lima. Among the international artists who have performed at the National Stadium, the following stand out: Julio Iglesias, Bad Bunny, Los Cafres, Hombres G, Phil Collins, High School Musical: The Concert, Carlos Santana, Cyndi Lauper, Deep Purple, Whitesnake, Boy George, Charly Garcia, Soda Stereo, Demi Lovato, R.E.M, Iron Maiden, Chayanne, Romeo Santos, Kiss, Oasis, Jonas Brothers, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Alejandro Sanz, Vilma Palma e Vampiros, Shakira, Juan Luis Guerra, Justin Bieber, Elton John, Don Tetto, The Killers, Hoobastank, The Cure, Roxette, RBD, INXS, Soundgarden, Incubus, Metallica, Joey Montana, Daddy Yankee, Los Auténticos Decadentes, Sonora Ponceña, Rata Blanca, Paul McCartney, Marc Anthony, One Direction, Alan Walker, Flying Lotus, Teen Top, André Rieu, Vanilla Ice, Juan Magan, Las Chicas del Can, Molotov (band), Enrique Iglesias, J Balvin, Grupo Niche, Río, Maroon 5, Mago de Oz, The B-52's, Héroes del Silencio, Los Prisioneros, New York Dolls, Andrés Calamaro, Mundaka, Gondwana, Alexander Abreu, Franz Ferdinand, Pitbull, Prince Royce, Rubén Blades, Coldplay, Maná, Limp Bizkit, Duncan Dhu, Travis, Evanescence, WWE, The Rasmus, Mägo de Oz, Junun, La Ley, El Gran Combo, PXNDX, Slipknot, Aerosmith, Korn, Linkin Park, P.O.D, Havana D'Primera, Ed Sheeran, Bruno Mars, Los Fabulosos Cadillacs, Harry Styles, Juan Gabriel, Depeche Mode, Radiohead, Bon Jovi, Menudo, Camila Cabello, BLACKPINK.

Among others, Soda Stereo holds the record for the highest attendance with Me Verás Volver 2007, 2 concerts attended by more than 120,000 people.