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Estadio Monumental Antonio Vespucio Liberti
The Estadio Monumental Antonio V. Liberti, better known as El Monumental de Nunez or River Plate Stadium, is a stadium in the Nunez district of Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is the home venue of Club Atletico River Plate and is named after former club president Antonio Vespucio Liberti. El Monumental is considered to be the national stadium of Argentina.
History
The first match played in this stadium was on 25 May, 1938 between River Plate and Penarol from Uruguay. River won 3-1. Oddly enough, archrivals Boca Juniors also inaugurated their stadium on 25 May, but two years later, in 1940.
The stadium was renovated several times, most notably for the 1978 World Cup, when the missing stands of one side were erected to complete the circle around the field.
Facilities
The stadium has room for 65,645 people, and was renewed for the 1978 World Cup; the opening and final matches were both held in the Monumental, which had a capacity of 76,600 at the time because all of the populars stands were standing-rooms.
The stadium complex also has facilities for tennis, basketball, and other sports, as well as living quarters for young footballers, a theatre hall, a parking lot, museum etc. It can be accessed by several train and bus lines, as it is located within walking distance from the Barrancas de Belgrano transportation hub. Contrary to most other stadiums in the Buenos Aires area, there is a sizable parking lot by the stadiums.
Sporting and Miscellaneous events held
The Monumental, aside from being where River Plate plays as host team, is also the stadium where the Argentine National Football Team usually plays as host, in events such as the FIFA World Cup qualification.
Rugby union matches featuring the Argentina national rugby union team, Los Pumas, also take place usually in this field. In addition, when an international music superstar or band comes to the country, its concert is held in this stadium, as it is the biggest in the country.Bon Jovi The Ramones, The Rolling Stones, Madonna, Robbie Williams, David Bowie, Paul McCartney, Roger Waters, U2, Guns N' Roses, Michael Jackson, Rod Stewart, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Slayer, Aerosmith, The Police, Evanescence, Keane, Beck, Metallica, Kiss, Tina Turner, Franz Ferdinand, Peter Gabriel, Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, AC/DC, Velvet Revolver, Black Sabbath, High School Musical have played here, among others. Local important bands such as Soda Stereo, Patricio Rey y sus Redonditos de Ricota or Seru Giran have also held their major shows at the Monumental as well. The Spice Girls will close their reunion world tour there. In 2007, the local band Soda Stereo will play 6 sold out shows at the stadium, having the call record of shows in a single tour. Iron Maiden moved their originally planed concert at Velez Stadium to River Plate stadium, due to overwhelming ticket demand for the 2008 tour.
1978 FIFA World Cup
The stadium served as venue for the following matches of the world tournament:
See also
Club Atletico River Plate
Antonio Vespucio Liberti
List of football stadiums by capacity
External links
Sitio Oficial del Club Atletico River Plate
Club Atletico River Plate official history
In depth history of 'El Monumental'
History of the stadium 'El Monumental' (written by fans)
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This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Estadio Monumental Antonio Vespucio Liberti
