Estadio Newell's Old Boys

Estadio Marcelo A. Bielsa is Newell's Old Boys' multi-use stadium in Rosario, Argentina. It didn't have any official name until December 22, 2009, when it was named after the former coach of the club Marcelo Bielsa. Until then it was simply called ''El Coloso del Parque'' ("The Colossus of the Park"), and this remained as the stadium's popular name. It is currently used mostly for football matches, but it has hosted some rugby matches sometimes, albeit rarely. The stadium was built in 1911, and has been expanded several times since. It currently holds 42,000.

History

First pitch (1905)

The first pitch or "field" as it was called at that time was located between the streets Boulevard Humberto First and Avellaneda, in the northwest of the city of Rosario, in the neighborhood of the workshops. The same was achieved through management by Claudio Newell (son of Isaac Newell, founder of the club), and was opened in 1905 .
It was the scene of the beginning of the meetings at that time the Football League Rosarina. The same had few amenities: had only a small box lumber modest. Due to this and the growth of the club, he found a new space for the field.

Second pitch (1907)

In 1907, thanks to the efforts of the then Mayor of Rosario, Nicasio Vila, who ceded some land, the field moved to the block between Avenue United Provinces streets, San Luis and La Rioja, in the neighborhood Vila, in the west corner of the city.

Parque de la Independencia (1911)

On July 23rd, 1911, Newell's Old Boys opened their new stadium in the Parque de la Independencia in the heart of Rosario. The stadium's design was in line with English stadiums of the time.

The original stadium was a wooden stand, and has in the years since had multiple additions to bring it to its current form.
On July 9th, 1918, the stadium debuted its first expansion, an iron and wooden stand for 3,000 spectators, bringing total capacity to 10,000. In 1925, the club built the north end stands.

On May 26th, 1929 the stadium's western stand opened, which was the first made of cement, and covered with a roof.

By 1930, Newell's had a stadium that could seat 30,000 spectators. Between 1971 and 1973, the stadium was completed with cement stands, and various other improvements and expansions.

In the 1990s, the club completed two new stands that elevated the stadium's capacity to 40,000, which took the nickname of "El Coloso del Parque" (The Colossus of the Park). The south stand was later named after Diego Maradona.

Since December 2008, the stadium has undergone continuous changes. At the end of 2009, the club decided to name the stadium after Marcelo Bielsa, and the Western concourse after Gerardo Martino, two managers and players who were not well treated during the time that Eduardo José López was president of the club.

To mark his 40th birthday, a stand was named after club captain Maxi Rodriguez in January 2021.

References

External links

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Newell's Old Boys
Marcelo Bielsa
1911 establishments in Argentina
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