Estadio Ingeniero Hilario Sánchez is a

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

stadium in the city of

San Juan San Juan, Spanish for Saint John (disambiguation), Saint John, most commonly refers to: * San Juan, Puerto Rico * San Juan, Argentina * San Juan, Metro Manila, a highly urbanized city in the Philippines San Juan may also refer to: Places Arge ...

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 ...

. It is owned and operated by C.A. San Martín. With a capacity of 26,500 spectators, it is the second biggest stadium in San Juan Province after Estadio del Bicentenario. The stadium was named after engineer Hilario Sánchez Rodríguez (1925–1987), former goalkeeper and then president of San Martín (1971–1983), regarded as one of the most prominent executives of the club.A 32 años de su muerte, ¿quién fue el hombre que le dio su nombre al Hilario Sánchez?
on Tiempo de San Juan, 29 May 2019

Overview

The stadium was inaugurated on Monday, 9 July 1951 in a friendly match between San Martín and

Independiente Rivadavia Club Sportivo Independiente Rivadavia (mostly known simply as Independiente Rivadavia) is a football club from Mendoza, Argentina. The team currently plays in the Argentine Primera División, the first major league in the Argentine Football leag ...

. San Martín won 3–1. During the presidency of Hilario Sánchez, the club added 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 daylight. ...

system to the stadium, and built new concrete grandstands which replaced the old wooden stands. Six months after the passing of Sánchez (29 May 1987), the Executive Committee (leaded by Miguel Sánchez, Hilario's brother) decided to name the stadium after him. Nevertheless, it would be changed to "Estadio 27 de Septiembre" (to commemorate the date of foundation of San Martín)Un repaso por la historia del estadio Hilario Sánchez en su 70º aniversario
on La Excusa Deportiva, 8 Sep 2021 in 1995. Nevertheless, the stadium returned to the "Hilario Sánchez" name in 2006. The venue was renovated in 2007 because San Martín had promoted to Primera División after defeating

Huracán Huracán (; ; , "one legged"), often referred to as ''U Kʼux Kaj'', the "Heart of Sky", is a Kʼicheʼ Maya god of wind, storm, fire and one of the creator deities who participated in all three attempts at creating humanity. He also caused th ...

in the 2007 promotion playoff. and the stadium needed a bigger capacity to host matches in the top-division league. Therefore a new grandstand for 14,000 people was built and the stadium increased its capacity. Works included construction of new press booths.

Notable matches

One of the San Martín's most outstandings achievements playing in Hilario Sánchez stadium occurred on 13 April 2013, when the squad beat

Boca Juniors Club Atlético Boca Juniors () is an Argentine professional sports club based in La Boca, a neighbourhood of Buenos Aires. The club is best known for its men's professional Association football, football team which, since its promotion in 1913 ...

6–1, with goals scored by Humberto Osorio (3), Jorge Luna, Lucas Landa, and Sebastián Penco. The stadium hosted a Argentina national team match, when the squad then coached by

Diego Maradona Diego Armando Maradona Franco (30 October 196025 November 2020) was an Argentine professional association football, football player and manager. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of the sport, he was one of the two ...

played a friendly game vs

Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...

, on 26 January 2010.Sedes: San Juan - Estadio Hilario Sánchez
on Copa Argentina Argentina won 3–2, with an attendance of 16,000. It was the second time Argentina played a match in San Juan.La Selección Argentina de fútbol está invicta en San Juan
on SI San Juan, 28 Apr 2020

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ingeniero Hilario Sanchez Football venues in Argentina San Martín de San Juan 1951 establishments in Argentina Sports venues completed in 1951