Centenario Stadium (, ; , named after the

centenary A centennial, or centenary in British English, is a 100th anniversary or otherwise relates to a century. Notable events Notable centennial events at a national or world-level include: * Centennial Exhibition, 1876, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. ...

of Uruguay's Constitution) is an

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

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 completely or partially surrounded by a tiered structure designed to allow spectators to stand or sit ...

Montevideo Montevideo (, ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2023 census, the city proper has a population of 1,302,954 (about 37.2% of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of 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 the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

. Located in the Parque Battle neighbourhood, It is owned by the Montevideo Department The stadium was built between 1929 and 1930 to host the inaugural

1930 FIFA World Cup The 1930 FIFA World Cup was the inaugural FIFA World Cup, the world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams. It took place in Uruguay from 13 to 30 July 1930. FIFA, ...

. It is listed by

FIFA The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...

as one of the football world's classic stadiums. On 18 July 1983, it was declared by FIFA as the first Historical Monument of World Football, to this day the only building to achieve this recognition worldwide.The mythical Centenario stadium, a "Historical Monument of Football", welcomes the finals of the U-20 Sudamericano Tournament
, 25 January 2015HISTORIA
Estadio Centenario is the national stadium of Uruguay and the primary home of their national football team. Uruguay has always been a threat when playing in their home stadium, consistently beating top teams. Even the top-ranked

Brazil national football team The Brazil national football team (), nicknamed ''Seleção Canarinho'' ("Canary Squad", after their bright yellow jersey), represents Brazil in men's international Association football, football and is administered by the Brazilian Football Co ...

has only managed three wins in 20 attempts; two were official matches during

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

and 2018 World Cup qualification, but one was Uruguay's heaviest defeat at the stadium when they lost 4–0 to Brazil in 2009.

History

The construction of the Centenario is one of the most important stages in the development of sports in

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

and international football. It was built especially for the

, by immigrant workers in a record time of nine months. Its name originates from the 100-year-celebration of the ratification of the first Constitution of Uruguay. Initially, all World Cup matches were to be played in the Centenario. However, heavy rains in

delayed construction of the stadium, so that several matches had to be played in the Pocitos Stadium of C.A. Peñarol, and the Parque Central of

Club Nacional de Football Club Nacional de Football (, ''National Football Club'') is a Uruguayan professional sports club based in La Blanqueada, La Blanqueada, Montevideo. The club was founded on 14 May 1899 as a result of the merger between ''Uruguay Athletic Club'' an ...

. It was inaugurated on 18 July 1930, with a match between

and

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

; the ''Celeste'' won 1–0 with a goal by Hector "Manco" Castro. The final match of the inaugural World Cup matched

and

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

, with

winning 4–2. Since then, the Centenario has been the scene of Copa América (

1942 The Uppsala Conflict Data Program project estimates this to be the deadliest year in human history in terms of conflict deaths, placing the death toll at 4.62 million. However, the Correlates of War estimates that the prior year, 1941, was th ...

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan after 57 years. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian Missionary, missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, E ...

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Canadian Confederation, Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 6 – Vietnam War: United States Marine Corps and Army of ...

, 1995), three South American Youth Championships (

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

), a South American Under-17 Football Championship (

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

) and 1980 Mundialito. In 2021, the Centenario was selected as host of the

Copa Libertadores The CONMEBOL Libertadores, also known as Copa Libertadores de América (), is an annual continental club football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 1960. It is the highest level of competition in South American club football. The tournam ...

and Copa Sudamericana finals. The stadium was renovated to prepare for those matches. The total cost of the works was $6 million and included the renovation of the grandstands, bathrooms, VIP boxes, and press boxes, along with a new illumination system and new pitch.

Tenants

Aside from the Uruguay national team, any football club can rent the stadium for its home matches.

Peñarol Club Atlético Peñarol (), more commonly referred to as Peñarol, is a Uruguayan professional football club based in Montevideo. The club currently competes in the Uruguayan Primera División, the highest tier in Uruguayan football. The nam ...

has done that often,Peñarol – Matches
/ref> and Nacional rents it for some international matches.Nacional – Matches
/ref> Peñarol played all of its home matches at the stadium from 1933 until it moved to

Estadio Campeón del Siglo Estadio Campeón del Siglo is a association football, football stadium located in Bañados de Carrasco, Montevideo, Uruguay, and the Home (sports), home ground of Peñarol, who plays in the Uruguayan Primera División, First Division. It has a ma ...

in 2016. In the case of other Uruguayan teams, they often decide to play there against both Peñarol and Nacional.

Grandstands

The stadium has four grandstands separated by four lanes. The main one is the'' Olympic'' Tribune (and lower Platea known as ''Olympic''), which is named so because the team had won two Olympic championships in a row ( 1924 and

1928 Events January * January – British bacteriologist Frederick Griffith reports the results of Griffith's experiment, indirectly demonstrating that DNA is the genetic material. * January 1 – Eastern Bloc emigration and defection: Boris B ...

). This has a maximum capacity of 21,648 spectators located in the three rings and the audience. Then there are the "popular", so called because they are sold cheaper, these are: the ''Colombes'', in honor of the

Colombes Colombes () is a Communes of France, commune in the northwestern suburbs of Paris, France, from the Kilometre zero, centre of Paris. In 2019, Colombes was the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, 53rd largest city in France. ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

in which the national team became Olympic champions 1924 and ''

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

'', because it was where the ''Celeste'' were crowned Olympic champions for the second time in

. The Grandstand ''Colombes'' accommodates 13,914 spectators while the ''Amsterdam'' accommodates 13,923. The ''America'' Tribune is parallel to the'' Olympic'' one. There are also " VIP" boxes and press boxes with room for 1,882 spectators, as well as the platform has room for 2,911 spectators, and additionally the grandstand has room for 5,957 people. Under the Olympic Grandstand are located primary school "Nº 100 Héctor Fígoli"; and the Museum of Uruguayan Football. Under the Colombes Grandstand is located Police Station Nº9.

Other facilities

Inside the Centenario stadium, there are other facilities such as the "Uruguayan Football Museum" which highlights the sporting achievements of the Uruguayan national team. It is located under the Olympic grandstand of the Centenario stadium and was inaugurated on 15 December 1975. In 2004, it underwent a remodeling, in which a panoramic elevator was added to the ''Torre de los Homenajes''.The Museum has a large collection of objects that are reminders of the most outstanding moments of Uruguayan and world football. This is administered by the Official Field Administrative Commission (CAFO), which is made up of representatives of the AUF and the Montevideo Municipal Government. On 21 July 1929, the founding stone of the Stadium was laid, which is located under the tower and can also be visited. Estadio Centenario is equipped to accommodate visitors with

Disability Disability is the experience of any condition that makes it more difficult for a person to do certain activities or have equitable access within a given society. Disabilities may be Cognitive disability, cognitive, Developmental disability, d ...

. The stadium features wheelchair-accessible seating areas, elevators, and ramps. Additionally, dedicated restroom facilities and amenities are available for differently-abled spectators. There is also a school running under the Olympic grandstand.

Sporting events

1930 FIFA World Cup

Estadio Centenario hosted ten matches of the 1930 FIFA World Cup, including both semi-final matches and the final match.

Copa Libertadores and Copa Sudamericana Final

It hosted the final of the Copa Sudamericana on 20 November 2021 and the

on 27 November 2021.

2030 FIFA World Cup

On 4 October 2023, Uruguay was announced as one of six host nations for the 2030 FIFA World Cup. To celebrate the centennial of the inaugural World Cup, Estadio Centenario is expected to host the opening match.

Concerts

The stadium has held numerous concerts by both national and international artists such as: *

Aerosmith Aerosmith is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Boston in 1970. The group consists of lead vocalist Steven Tyler, bassist Tom Hamilton (musician), Tom Hamilton, drummer Joey Kramer, and guitarists Joe Perry (musician), Joe Perry and B ...

* Amaral * Árbol *

Arnaldo Antunes Arnaldo Antunes (, born Arnaldo Augusto Nora Antunes Filho, September 2, 1960) is a Brazilian singer, writer, and composer. He was a member of the rock band Titãs, which he co-founded in 1982 and left ten years later. After 1992, he embarked on ...

* Attaque 77 *

Brian May Sir Brian Harold May (born 19 July 1947) is an English musician, songwriter, record producer, animal welfare activist and astrophysics, astrophysicist. He achieved global fame as the lead guitarist and backing vocalist of the rock band Queen ...

Bryan Adams Bryan Guy Adams (born November 5, 1959) is a British and Canadian singer-songwriter, musician, record producer, and photographer. He is estimated to have sold between 75 million and more than 100 million album, records and Single (music), si ...

* Buitres Después de la Una * Charly García * Chayanne *

Enrique Iglesias Enrique Miguel Iglesias Preysler (; born 8 May 1975) is a Spanish singer and songwriter. He started his recording career in the mid-1990s on the Mexican label Fonovisa where he released three Spanish albums ''Enrique Iglesias (album), Enrique ...

Eric Clapton Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English Rock music, rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s l ...

* Fito Páez *

Guns N' Roses Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1985 as a merger of local bands L.A. Guns and Hollywood Rose. When they signed to Geffen Records in 1986, the band's "classic" line-up consisted of vocalist Axl R ...

* Joaquín Sabina *

Joe Cocker John Robert "Joe" Cocker (20 May 1944 – 22 December 2014) was an English singer known for his gritty, bluesy voice and dynamic stage performances featuring expressive body movements. Most of his best-known singles, such as "Feelin' Alright ...

* Joe Vasconcellos * Jorge Drexler * Los Olimareños * Los Piojos * Luciano Pavarotti * Luis Miguel * Maná * No Te Va Gustar * Nortec Collective * One Direction * Patricio Rey y sus Redonditos de Ricota * Paul McCartney * Phil Collins * Plácido Domingo * ReyToro * Ricardo Arjona * Rod Stewart * Roger Waters * Roxette * Rubén Blades * Sebastian Bach * Serú Girán * Soledad Pastorutti * Soy Luna Live * Sting (musician), Sting * Sui Generis * The Rolling Stones * Tini (singer), Tini * Teen Angels * The Cult

References

External links

Estadio Centenario in Gigapan

Official website
(archived) {{Authority control 1930 establishments in Uruguay Sports venues completed in 1930 Football venues in Montevideo, Centenario Buildings and structures in Montevideo National stadiums Museums in Montevideo Music venues completed in 1930 Articles containing video clips 2030 FIFA World Cup