Estadio Feliciano Gambarte, nicknamed ''La Bodega'', is a

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 either partly or completely surrounded by a tiered structure designed to allow spectators to stand o ...

in Godoy Cruz, Mendoza,

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 used primarily 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 (sport), goal. Unqualified, Football (word), the word ''football'' normally means the form of football tha ...

matches and is owned and operated by

Godoy Cruz Antonio Tomba Club Deportivo Godoy Cruz Antonio Tomba, known simply as Godoy Cruz, is an Argentine sports club from Godoy Cruz, Mendoza. The club is best known for its football team, that plays in the Primera División, the top level of the Argentine footb ...

. The stadium, inaugurated in 1959,Estadio Feliciano Gambarte
at Godoy Cruz website holds 16,000 people. The stadium was named "Estadio Nuevo" until 1986, when it was renamed "Feliciano Gambarte", to honor former athlete and president of the club.

History

The first Godoy Cruz stadium was inaugurated in November 1923 on a land located on Castelli and Las Heras street. The administrative seat of the club was also established there. Godoy Cruz played their home matches there until in January 1959 the club announced the construction of a new stadium. It would be erected on land 2 ha land previously donated and would be financed by the club members.

In January 1954 the provincial senate and deputy chamber promulgated law 2.292 that ruled the donation and paved the way for the sign of the public deed between the Municipality and C.D. Godoy Cruz. Project included construction of a

football pitch A football pitch (also known as soccer field) is the playing surface for the game of association football. Its dimensions and markings are defined by Law 1 of the Laws of the Game, "The Field of Play". The pitch is typically made of natural t ...

(100 x 70 m) and grandstands for 11,000 people. Other facilities to build included

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball c ...

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

, and

bocce (, or , ), sometimes anglicized as bocce ball, bocci or boccie, is a ball sport belonging to the boules family. Developed into its present form in Italy, it is closely related to British bowls and French , with a common ancestry from ancie ...

courts. The stadium was inaugurated on 3 October 1959 with a friendly match vs. Andes Talleres Sport Club. Later, the club refurbished and expanded the stadium. Improvements included a

lighting Lighting or illumination is the deliberate use of light to achieve practical or aesthetic effects. Lighting includes the use of both artificial light sources like lamps and light fixtures, as well as natural illumination by capturing dayligh ...

system consisting of four towers (inaugurated during a 1969 Copa Argentina match vs

Chacarita Juniors Club Atlético Chacarita Juniors (usually known simply as Chacarita) is an Argentine football club headquartered in Villa Crespo, Buenos Aires, while the stadium is located in Villa Maipú, General San Martín Partido of Greater Buenos Aires. ...

). On 1 March 1964, Brazilian

Santos FC Santos Futebol Clube (), commonly known simply as Santos or Santos FC and nicknamed the ''Peixe'' (; "fish"), is a Brazilian sports club based in Vila Belmiro, a ''bairro'' in the city of Santos. It is also the team with the most goals in ...

(with superstar

Pelé Edson Arantes do Nascimento (; born 23 October 1940), known as Pelé (), is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a forward. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time and labelled "the greatest" by FI ...

, considered the best player of his time) visited the stadium to play a friendly match vs. Godoy Cruz. Santos won the match 3–2. After the match, Godoy Cruz executives invited the Brazilian team to an

asado ' () is the technique and the social event of having or attending a barbecue in various South American countries, especially Argentina, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay where it is also a traditional event. An ''asado'' usually consists of beef ...

in Chacras de Coria town, where Pelé met former international footballer Raimundo Orsi, who had moved to live in Mendoza years ago. The last significative refurbishment made to the stadium was in 1994 when Godoy Cruz promoted to

Primera B Nacional Primera Nacional (usually called simply Nacional B, in English "National B Division", and known as Primera B Nacional until the 2019–20 season) is the second division of the Argentine football league system. The competition is made up of 37 team ...

. The venue was adapted in compliance with requirements of the Association. After Godoy Cruz promoted to Primera División, the stadium had to be refurbished again to fulfil the requirements of the division stipulated by the Association rules. Meanwhile, the football team have been playing their home games at Estadio Malvinas Argentinas. In August 2022, the popular grandstand of the stadium was demolished. A new and more modern stand will be built to replace it.Tristeza y emoción: así derrumbaron la mítica popular del Feliciano Gambarte
Los Andes, 9 Aug 2022 As of December 2022, the stadium was still being remodelled.Godoy Cruz: así va a quedar el estadio Feliciano Gambarte
on Argentina F.C. - November 2022 Improvements to be made include the construction of new dressing rooms and modern grandstands. It is expected the stadium will be operative again in 2023.

References

External links

* {{Argentine Primera División venues f Godoy Cruz Antonio Tomba 1959 establishments in Argentina