The Juan Carmelo Zerillo Stadium, also known as ''El Bosque'' (Spanish for "The Forest", due to its location in a big city park of the same name), is a sports venue located in the city of
La Plata
La Plata () is the capital city of Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. According to the , it has a population of 654,324 and its metropolitan area, the Greater La Plata, has 787,294 inhabitants. It is located 9 kilometers (6 miles) inland from th ...
,
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...
,
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
. It is located on 60th Avenue and its intersection with 118th Street. It is the stadium of the
Club de Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata
Club de Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata (; ''La Plata Gymnastics and Fencing Club''), also known simply as Gimnasia, is an Argentine professional sports club based in the city of La Plata, Buenos Aires Province. Founded in 1887 as "Club de Gimnasi ...
, and nowadays has the capacity to accommodate approximately 21,500 spectators.
The stadium was named in honor of Juan Carmelo Zerillo, who was president of the club between 1929 and 1931. During his tenure, Gimnasia y Esgrima won its first official title, the
1929 Primera División championship.
History
![Zerillo](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2c/Zerillo.jpg)
On March 22, 1923, work began to build the stadium, with a field's dimensions of 118 meters long and 74 meters wide. On April 26, 1924, a ceremony was held, with the presence of then Governor, Dr. Cantilo. The official inauguration, however, was postponed until the anniversary of the city of
La Plata
La Plata () is the capital city of Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. According to the , it has a population of 654,324 and its metropolitan area, the Greater La Plata, has 787,294 inhabitants. It is located 9 kilometers (6 miles) inland from th ...
, on November 19, with Gimnasia playing a friendly match against
Uruguayan
Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...
club
Peñarol
Club Atlético Peñarol (; English: ''Peñarol Athletic Club'') —also known as ''Carboneros'', ''Aurinegros,'' and (familiarly) ''Manyas''— is a Uruguayan sports club from Montevideo. The name "Peñarol" comes from the Peñarol neigh ...
.
The stands were made of wood, as it was traditional at that time. The club added a concrete covered structure to house the club members. This covered structure, situated in the midfield, was finished in 1931; individual seats were added to it in the late 1940s. This structure has been classified as a historical building by the city of La Plata (City order #1579).
![Estadiogimnasia1940](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b7/Estadiogimnasia1940.jpg)
During a
La Plata derby
The La Plata derby (Clásico Platense or Clásico de La Plata in Spanish) is one of the most fiercely contested derbies in Argentine football. It is played between local clubs Estudiantes and Gimnasia y Esgrima.
The first official derby took ...
game in 1959, one of the wooden stands collapsed, causing dozens of injuries and the suspension of the match. Over the years the stadium changed its structure, in order to harbor a greater number of public. After the club's remarkable campaigns in the 90s and the delay of the construction of the
Estadio Ciudad de La Plata
The Estadio Único Diego Armando Maradona (''One-of-a kind Diego Armando Maradona Stadium'', formerly Estadio Ciudad de La Plata) is a multi-purpose stadium located in the city of La Plata, Argentina. It is also known popularly as the Estadio Únic ...
, Gimnasia's coach
Carlos Timoteo Griguol
Carlos Timoteo Griguol (4 September 1934 – 6 May 2021) was an Argentine football coach and player, who played as a midfielder.
Life
His playing career was spent with Atlanta and Rosario Central. As a coach, after winning the championship with ...
required the then club's president, Héctor Delmar, to expand the capacity of the stadium to meet the standards required by
FIFA
FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...
, which said that from 2001 no first division club could have their stadium built with wood.
Between 2006 and June 2008, the stadium could not be used for official tournaments, due to new safety standards the Co.Pro.Se.De (Coprosede) committee created in 2002 with the aim of reducing incidents of violence at sporting events in the Province of Buenos Aires. The president at the time, Juan José Muñoz, decided to use the Estadio Ciudad de La Plata to play the home games. This decision taken by Muñoz was done without calling an assembly. This unilateral decision resulted in several complaints.
The management board that took the reins of the club in 2008 began some repairs and improvements of facilities in early 2008 to get the approval of the Coprosede to play official matches. On June 21, 2008, Gimnasia played again an official game in ''El Bosque'', against Lanús.
Since the start of the Apertura 2008 tournament, Gimnasia use their ''Stadium of The Forest'' for most home games.
References
External links
*
{{Argentine Primera División venues
Estadio Juan Carmelo Zerillo
The Juan Carmelo Zerillo Stadium, also known as ''El Bosque'' (Spanish for "The Forest", due to its location in a big city park of the same name), is a sports venue located in the city of La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is located on 60th Ave ...
j
Sports venues completed in 1924
Estadio Juan Carmelo Zerillo
The Juan Carmelo Zerillo Stadium, also known as ''El Bosque'' (Spanish for "The Forest", due to its location in a big city park of the same name), is a sports venue located in the city of La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is located on 60th Ave ...
Sports venues in Buenos Aires Province