Estadio Alberto Gallardo is a football stadium in the Rimac District of

Lima Lima ( ; ), originally founded as Ciudad de Los Reyes (City of The Kings) is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín Rivers, in the desert zone of the central coastal part of ...

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...

, named after

Alberto Gallardo Félix Alberto Gallardo Mendoza (28 November 1940 – 19 January 2001) was a Peruvian football player and manager. Career During his club career, Gallardo played for Sporting Cristal, A.C. Milan, Cagliari Calcio and Sociedade Esportiva Pal ...

, a former Peruvian football player and manager who played several years for Sporting Cristal. It is the home of football club Sporting Cristal. The stadium was built in the 1960s along the

Rímac River The Rímac River is located in western Peru and is the most important source of potable water for the Lima and Callao Metropolitan Area. The river is part of the Pacific watershed and has a length of 204 km. The river begins in the highlan ...

for local football use and originally named Estadio San Martín de Porres. Many clubs playing in the Primera División, Segunda División, and district leagues of San Martín de Porres were among the many tenants the stadium had. In 1995, Sporting Cristal—one of the regular first division tenants of the stadium—decided to lease the venue from the Instituto Peruano del Deporte for 17 years. In 2012 the club signed a new lease contract for 10 years and will expire in 2022. The stadium itself has hosted few high-risk matches due to the limited access to the stadium and the low capacity of 11,600.

History

The football stadium was built in the 1960s for the practice of

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

. The venue was regularly used for matches in the Segunda División and the district leagues of

. In 1979, Sporting Cristal began to host its home matches in the San Martín de Porres and again between 1983 and 1985. In the middle of 1995, Sporting Cristal signed an agreement with the Instituto Peruano de Deportes which would lease the stadium to the club. The club then invested $200,000 in the stadium for renovations which included grass imported from the

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. On 24 September 1995, the stadium re-opened its doors to a first division match between Sporting Cristal and

Cienciano Club Sportivo Cienciano is a professional football club based in Cusco, Peru that currently plays in the Peruvian Primera División. The club was founded in 1901 by a group of students of the ''Colegio Nacional Ciencias del Cusco'' (National S ...

, where Cristal defeated Cienciano 6–0. The stadium had a total capacity of 20,000 spectators in its four stands in the 1960s but it has been reduced up to 11,600 due to the safety regulations in the Peruvian 30037 law against violence in sport events. The southern stand overlooks the cliff of the

. This stand is not open to the public. The restriction of this stand has prevented high-risk matches from being hosted in recent times, notably against rivals Alianza Lima and

Universitario de Deportes Club Universitario de Deportes, popularly known as Universitario or simply as La "U", is a Peruvian football club located in Lima. The club was founded in 1924 under the name Federación Universitaria by students of the National University of S ...

which are customarily played in the Estadio Nacional. In 2010, Sporting Cristal took advantage of the ongoing renovation of the Estadio Nacional to play rivals Alianza and Universitario in their home stadium. In May 2012, Sporting Cristal was able to legally change the name of the stadium from Estadio San Martín de Porres to Estadio Alberto Gallardo, which is the name of an iconic former player of the club following the signing of the new ten-year lease.

International Matches

References

{{coord, 12.038, S, 77.045, W, display=title, source:ptwiki San Martin de Porres Sporting Cristal Sports venues in Lima Multi-purpose stadiums in Peru