Estadio Atanasio Girardot (Atanasio Girardot Stadium), commonly referred to as El Atanasio, is a

multi-purpose stadium A multi-purpose stadium is a type of stadium designed to be easily used for multiple types of events. While any stadium could potentially host more than one type of sport or event, this concept usually refers to a design philosophy that stres ...

Medellín Medellín ( ; or ), officially the Special District of Science, Technology and Innovation of Medellín (), is the List of cities in Colombia, second-largest city in Colombia after Bogotá, and the capital of the department of Antioquia Departme ...

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

. Located in the Laureles '' comuna'' of Medellin, the stadium is currently used mostly for

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

matches by

Atlético Nacional Atlético Nacional S. A., best known as Atlético Nacional, is a Colombian professional football club based in Medellín. The club is one of only three clubs to have played in every first division tournament in the country's history, the other ...

and

Independiente Medellín Deportivo Independiente Medellín, also known as Independiente Medellín or DIM, is a Colombian professional football club (association football), football club based in Medellín that currently plays in the Categoría Primera A. They play their ...

, the most popular clubs in the

Antioquia Department Antioquia () is one of the 32 departments of Colombia, located in the central northwestern part of Colombia with a narrow section that borders the Caribbean Sea. Most of its territory is mountainous with some valleys, much of which is part o ...

. On occasion, the stadium has held Colombia national team matches too. Its current capacity is 44,826 which ranks as the third largest in the country behind

Estadio Deportivo Cali Estadio Deportivo Cali, also called Estadio de Palmaseca, is a football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, fo ...

and

Estadio Metropolitano Roberto Meléndez Estadio Metropolitano Roberto Meléndez, commonly known as Estadio Metropolitano, or colloquially, El Metro, is a multi-use All-seater stadium, all-seater association football, football stadium in Barranquilla, Colombia. It is the home stadium o ...

. The stadium was named after

Atanasio Girardot Manuel Atanasio Girardot Díaz (2 May 1791 – 30 September 1813) was a Neogranadine military officer and one of the heroes of the Colombian War of Independence, Colombian and Venezuelan War of Independence, Venezuelan wars of Independence. H ...

, a Colombian revolutionary leader who fought alongside

Simón Bolívar Simón José Antonio de la Santísima Trinidad Bolívar y Palacios (24July 178317December 1830) was a Venezuelan statesman and military officer who led what are currently the countries of Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Panama, and Bol ...

. The stadium is part of the

Atanasio Girardot Sports Complex Atanasio Girardot Sports Complex (officially ''Unidad Deportiva Atanasio Girardot'') is a sports complex located in Medellín, Colombia. The complex includes Estadio Atanasio Girardot, Medellín Sports Coliseum, Luis Alberto Villegas Stadium, an ...

History

The stadium was inaugurated on 19 March 1953 with a friendly match between Antioquia XI and Mexican side

Club América Club de Fútbol América S.A. de C.V., commonly known as Club América, is a professional association football, football club based in Mexico City. Nicknamed ''Las Águilas'' (The Eagles), it competes in Liga MX, the top tier of Mexican football ...

. It was renovated for the

2011 FIFA U-20 World Cup The 2011 FIFA U-20 World Cup was the 18th FIFA U-20 World Cup. Colombia hosted the tournament between 29 July and 20 August 2011, with matches being played in eight cities. The tournament was won by Brazil national under-20 football team, Brazil w ...

to the capacity of 40,943. The renovations also included the removal of the high fencing around the pitch, the removal of the running track, and the painting of seats. In 2021, the stadium was renovated to prepare for the

2021 Copa América The 2021 Copa América was the 47th edition of the Copa América, the international men's association football, football championship organised by South America's football ruling body CONMEBOL. The tournament took place in Brazil from 13 June to ...

, which was originally to be held in

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

and Colombia. However, the tournament was moved to

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

. The renovations cost around $11 million and included more press boxes, more luxury boxes, better lighting, seating replacements, and bathroom renovations.

Concerts

Sporting events held

The stadium has hosted many sporting events: *

1978 Central American and Caribbean Games The 13th Central American and Caribbean Games were held in Medellín, Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North Ameri ...

2001 Copa América The 2001 Copa América was held in Colombia, from 11 to 29 July. It was organised by CONMEBOL, South America's football governing body. Colombia won the tournament for the 1st time without conceding a goal. Brazil were the two-time defending cha ...

2010 South American Games The IX South American Games (Spanish: ''Juegos Sudamericanos''; Portuguese: ''Jogos Sul-Americanos'') was a multi-sport event held between 19 and 30 March 2010 in Medellín, Colombia. The Games were organized by the South American Sports Organi ...

FIFA U-20 World Cup: Destination - FIFA.com
/ref> *

2024 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup The 2024 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup () was the 11th edition of the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup, the biennial international women's youth association football, football championship contested by the under-20 women's national teams of the member as ...

Transport

The stadium has its own station on line B of the

Medellín Metro The Medellín Metro (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Metro de Medellín'') is a rapid transit system that crosses the Metropolitan Area of Medellín from North to South and from Centre to West. It first opened for service on 30 November 1995. As one ...

, which is named ''

Estadio es:Estadio is the spanish language word for Stadium. The term may be applied to the following: * Estadio (magazine) ''Estadio'' was a sports magazine from Chile, that specialized in Chilean football and other sports. It was regarded as the "pr ...

''.

Average attendances

References