Estadio Eduardo Santos is a multi-use

stadium A stadium (: stadiums or stadia) is a place or venue for (mostly) outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage completely or partially surrounded by a tiered structure designed to allow spectators to stand or sit ...

Santa Marta Santa Marta (), officially the Distrito Turístico, Cultural e Histórico de Santa Marta (), is a port List of cities in Colombia, city on the coast of the Caribbean Sea in northern Colombia. It is the capital of Magdalena Department and the fou ...

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 ...

, 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. It is the largest sports facility in

Magdalena Department Magdalena () is a Departments of Colombia, department of Colombia, located in the north of the country by the Caribbean Sea, with more than 1.3 million people. The capital of the Magdalena Department is Santa Marta and was named after the Mag ...

with a maximum capacity of 23,000 people. The stadium is named after politician and publisher

Eduardo Santos Eduardo Santos may refer to: * Eduardo Santos Montejo, Colombian publisher and president of Colombia * Eduardo Santos (judoka) (born 1983), Brazilian judoka * Eduardo Yudy Santos (born 1994), Brazilian judoka * Eduardo Santos (sport shooter), Po ...

, President of the Republic of Colombia from 1938 to 1942.

Unión Magdalena

Since its opening in 1951, Estadio Eduardo Santos has been home to the

club

Unión Magdalena Unión Magdalena () commonly known as El Unión, and nicknamed as El Ciclón Bananero (The Banana Cyclone) and also Los Samarios (The Samarios), is a Colombian football club from the city of Santa Marta, capital of the department of Magdalena De ...

, and witnessed the birth of prominent figures of Colombian football, including former captain Colombia Carlos ' El pibe' ('The Kid') Valderrama. In 2002, a monumental sculpture of Carlos Valderrama was unveiled at the stadium entrance in a grand ceremony with fireworks attended by about 14,000 people, including 3,000 special guests. The 6.5 meter high, eight ton monument sculpted by Amilkar Ariza, is considered the world's largest bronze for a footballer. It has become the most visited sculpture in Santa Marta. In 1968, with a final game against

Deportivo Cali Asociación Deportivo Cali, best known as Deportivo Cali, is a Colombian sports club based in Cali, most notable for its football team, which currently competes in the Categoría Primera A. Deportivo Cali is one of the most successful football t ...

played in the Eduardo Santos Stadium, Union Magdalena won its first and only Colombian

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 ...

League Championship to date. During the celebration a motor vehicle accident took the life of a fan in the caravan of triumph, and it is said that Magdalena can never again rise to champion due to the "''Curse of the Celebration.''”

Renovations

1998 - With an investment of 340 million pesos, the capacity of the stadium's South Stand was increased by 3,700 spectators. 2008 - A government initiative to restructure the system was launched in response to poor stadium conditions that had resulted from years of neglect. 2013 - On March 3, the

played their last game in the stadium against Llaneros FC, in compliance with the order to permanently close the Eduardo Santos due to precarious safety conditions for those attending. Plans were announced for an investment of 20,000 million pesos in a new stadium Eduardo Santos on the same site, with input from the National Government. 2014 - Plans are in progress to construct the new

stadium in time for the

Bolivarian Games The Bolivarian Games (Spanish: ''Juegos Bolivarianos'', full name ''Juegos Deportivos Bolivarianos'') are a regional multi-sport event held in honor of Simón Bolívar, and organized by the Bolivarian Sports Organization (''Organización Deporti ...

2017. The new stadium is to be relocated to the Villa Deportiva Bolivariana. A center for indoor sports such as gymnastics, boxing, and weightlifting is to be built at the current site of Estadio Eduardo Santos, which will be demolished due to deterioration of its physical infrastructure.

References

{{Reflist

Santa Marta Buildings and structures in Magdalena Department

Unión Magdalena

Renovations

See also

References