Estadio Guillermo Plazas Alcid is a

multi-purpose 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 tha ...

Neiva Neiva () is the capital of the Department of Huila. It is located in the valley of the Magdalena River in south central Colombia with a population of about 357,392 inhabitants. It is one of the most important cities in southern Colombia, mainly ...

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 ...

. It is currently used mostly for

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

matches. The stadium has a capacity of 22,000 people and was built in 1980.

Atlético Huila Atlético Huila is a professional Colombian football team based in Neiva, that currently plays in the Categoría Primera B. The club was founded on November 29, 1990, making it one of the youngest professional football clubs in Colombia. The club' ...

plays its home matches at this stadium. The Guillermo Plazas Alcid stadium had a 'handmade' start in the late 1950s, when a group of young people decided to clean a minefield of stones located at that time near the Mano Fuerte district, to give it the shape of soccer field. The organizer was at that time political leader Alfonzo Díaz Parra. This project lasted about a week, and ended up being called "The Desnucadero". Nevertheless, it was until 1964 thanks to the famous brick march, led by the mayor elect of the time Guillermo Plazas Alcid and his right hand Senator Díaz Parra, in addition in which college students and common citizens participated, that the idea of having a soccer stadium was taking shape. The definitive construction was consolidated thanks to the donation of a piece of land in the La Libertad neighborhood by the Municipal Government for the designation of Neiva as the venue for the 1980 National Sports Games, and the stadium officially opened on 28 November 1980. Its first renovation was between 1992 and 1995, which consisted of the creation of the east stand built under the term of governor Luis Enrique Ortiz. In January 2015, works began on a $20 million renovation project, scheduled for completion by November 2016. However, on 19 August 2016, a fatal accident occurred when a slab of concrete fell, killing four and seriously wounding ten others. After that, construction was halted for almost five years. Construction finally resumed in August 2021, with the project scaled down.

References

Sports venues completed in 1980 Football venues in Colombia Multi-purpose stadiums in Colombia

Estadio Guillermo Plazas Alcid Estadio Guillermo Plazas Alcid is a multi-purpose stadium in Neiva Neiva () is the capital of the Department of Huila. It is located in the valley of the Magdalena River in south central Colombia with a population of about 357,392 inhabitants. ...

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