Estadio Olímpico de la UCV is a

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

(football, athletics, rugby) used mainly for

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 ...

Caracas Caracas (, ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas, abbreviated as CCS, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the ...

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

, which serves the home ground of

Caracas F.C. Caracas Fútbol Club is a Venezuelan football team based in Caracas. The club has won twelve First Division titles making it the most successful in Venezuelan football history. They are nicknamed ''Los Rojos del Ávila'', or the "Reds from � ...

Deportivo La Guaira Deportivo La Guaira (formerly known as Real Esppor) is a professional Football (soccer), football club promoted to the Primera División Venezolana, Venezuelan league in 2009, based in La Guaira but playing its home games in Caracas at the Estadi ...

, Metropolitanos F.C., and Universidad Central. It has a capacity of 23,940.

History

The stadium was designed by Venezuelan architect

Carlos Raúl Villanueva Carlos Raúl Villanueva Astoul (May 30, 1900 – August 16, 1975) was a Venezuelan modernist architect. Villanueva went for the first time to Venezuela when he was 28 years old. He was involved in the development and modernization of Caracas, ...

. It was opened in 1951 and renovated in 2007. It used to be the home ground of

Unión S.C. Unión Sport Club (usually called Unión) was a professional football club. The club has won seven First Division titles in the amateur era. The club was based in Caracas. Honours *Primera División Venezolana Primera may refer to * Nissan Pr ...

The stadium has hosted major events such as the

Copa Libertadores The CONMEBOL Libertadores, also known as the Copa Libertadores de América ( pt, Copa Libertadores da América), is an annual international club football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 1960. It is the highest level of competition in S ...

, the

1983 Pan American Games The 1983 Pan American Games were held in Caracas, Venezuela from August 14 to August 29, 1983. The games were the first major international competition to include relatively accurate steroid testing.Taylor, William N., ''Anabolic Steroids and the ...

and the South American qualifiers for the World Cup, as well as the former

Copa Merconorte The Copa Merconorte () was an international football competition organized by CONMEBOL from 1998 to 2001 by clubs from Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela and starting in 2000 clubs from the CONCACAF confederation were invited in ...

and matches of the Copa América. There have been several important football teams that have played at this stadium, such as

Inter Milan Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Football in Italy, Italian professional Association football, football ...

A.C. Milan Associazione Calcio Milan (), commonly referred to as AC Milan or simply Milan, is a professional football club in Milan, Italy, founded in 1899. The club has spent its entire history, with the exception of the 1980–81 and 1982–83 seasons ...

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...

USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

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 ...

and

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

. The 1975 Copa América final between

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

and

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

was also played in this stadium. In 2009,

Aerosmith Aerosmith is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Boston in 1970. The group consists of Steven Tyler (lead vocals), Joe Perry (musician), Joe Perry (guitar), Tom Hamilton (musician), Tom Hamilton (bass), Joey Kramer (drums) and Brad Whi ...

was to be the first act playing at Estadio Olímpico. The concert was cancelled due to a knee infection to lead guitarist Joe Perry.

Copa América matches

1975 Copa América

The Olímpico was the venue for the

1975 Copa América The 1975 edition of the Copa América football tournament was played between 17 July and 28 October. For the first time there was no fixed venue, and all matches were played throughout the year in each country. In addition, the tournament changed ...

play-off final:

2007 Copa América

The stadium was one of the venues for the

2007 Copa América The 2007 Campeonato Sudamericano Copa América, known simply as the 2007 Copa América or 2007 Copa América Venezuela, was the 42nd edition of the Copa América, the South-American championship for international association football teams. The c ...

. The following games were played at the stadium during said event:

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Estadio Olimpico (Caracas) Olimpico Olimpico Copa América stadiums Multi-purpose stadiums in Venezuela Sports venues in Caracas Pan American Games opening ceremony stadiums 1950 establishments in Venezuela Ciudad Universitaria de Caracas Rugby union stadiums in Venezuela