Estadio Antonio Vespucio Liberti is the largest stadium in Argentina, with a capacity of 62,000 people. It is the home of the football club Club Atlético River Plate, who are also the owners of the stadium.
It is also home to the Argentina national football team and Argentina national rugby union team.
This stadium is also called as El Monumental, River Plate Stadium, and Monumental de Nunez. This stadium was named after former club president Antonio Vespucio Liberti. It was opened on 25 May 1938.
History
The Club Atlético River Plate was founded in 1901, when they played their matches on various grounds in Buenos Aires. In 1930’s, the club decided to construct their own new stadium. The land for the new stadium was purchased in the Belgrano in the year 1934.
They obtained a loan of $2,500,000 from the government and on September 27, 1936, construction began under the direction of architects Jose Aslan and Hector Ezcurra.
It took over two years for its construction and due to insufficient funds, the committee decided to halt the construction of the north end of the stadium.
El Monumental was opened on 26 May 1938 with a friendly match between River and Uruguayan side Penarol.
The stadium was renovated to host 1978 FIFA World Cup and its capacity was increased to 74,624 people. This stadium has a record attendance of more than 100000 people in 1975 when River played Racing for the title.
Major matches
El Monumental hosted the 1951 Pan American Games and 1978 FIFA World Cup. Many Rugby Union matches featuring the Argentina national rugby union team also take place in this stadium.
Recent Matches
In 2007, the first Super Special Stage of the 2007 Rally Argentina of WRC was hosted in this Stadium.In 2011, it hosted four finals of the Copa América.
Future Matches
El Monumental is selected to host the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires.
