Estadio Nacional de Costa Rica (2011)

For the 'old' (1924) Stadium, see Estadio Nacional de Costa Rica (1924).

Estadio Nacional
Location	San José
Coordinates	9°56′11″N 84°6′28″W / 9.93639°N 84.10778°W / 9.93639; -84.10778Coordinates: 9°56′11″N 84°6′28″W / 9.93639°N 84.10778°W / 9.93639; -84.10778
Broke ground	2008
Opened	March 26, 2011
Surface	Grass
Construction cost	105 million US Dollars
Capacity	35,100

Estadio Nacional de Costa Rica (Costa Rica National Stadium) is a multi-purpose stadium in La Sabana, San José, Costa Rica. Completed in 2011, it will mainly be used for football matches. The stadium replaces the original National Stadium.

The Chinese government financed the construction of the stadium, which has a capacity of 35,062. Demolition began after the match between UCR (Universidad de Costa Rica) and Brujas FC and the 200M event where Nery Brenes set a new national record (20:28 seconds). The new stadium was opened in late March 2011.

The construction of the stadium formed part of the agreements signed between the presidents of Costa Rica and the China, Óscar Arias and Hu Jintao, respectively, during Arias' first visit to the Asian country in October 2007. The construction began on March 12, 2009 and finished in 2011.

The inauguration ceremony was celebrated on the night of Saturday, March 26, 2011. National and international sports activities and entertainment will go on through April 10. The first match was a friendly game played on the inauguration night by the Costa Rican National Team against the National Team of China, the match ended 2-2, with Álvaro Saborío scoring the first goal ever in the stadium. In March 29, in front of 35,000 people, the second football match in the Stadium was celebrated between the Costa Rica team and Argentina (final 0-0).

Shakira headlined a concert at the stadium on April 10, 2011 and the American rock band Pearl Jam are scheduled to play at the stadium on November 20, 2011, as part of their 20th anniversary tour.^[1]

References

1. ^ "Pearl Jam Announces 2011 South and Central American Tour". pearljam.com. 2011-07-11. http://www.pearljam.com/news/pearl-jam-announces-2011-south-and-central-american-tour. Retrieved 2011-07-11. 

External links

• World Stadiums page
• [1]