Estadio Gran Parque Central

The Estadio Gran Parque Central is an important landmark in the history of Uruguay, not only because of its relevance in sports, but also for its bonds with the rich history of Uruguayans and their patriotic feelings.

Before the existence of Parque Central as a sports ground, in exactly the same location (which used to be known as "Quinta de la Paraguaya"), Uruguay's national hero José Artigas was named Jefe de los Orientales (leader of the Uruguayan people) in 1811.

The beginnings

In its beginnings, the Gran Parque Central stadium had wooden grandstands

The Parque Central was opened for the practice of sports in 1900, having been the site of Montevideo's bullring until the abolition of this activity. At first, the tenants of the stadium were Deutscher Fussball Klub for their home games at the first Uruguayan league championship in the 1900s. As a sports stadium, the Parque Central was inaugurated on March 25, 1900 with a match between the Deutscher Fussball Klub and the CURCC (Central Uruguay Railway Cricket Club). The final score was CURCC 2 – Deutscher 0. Before the game, a lunch was served at Hotel Lanata, among personalities from the Government and leaders of the clubs. According to some chronicles from that period, the inauguration included the Don Bosco Band and the "Flora" gunship Band. There was also a special highlight with a Scottish skirt dancer who took the 7,000 people present by surprise, as they were unaware of the Scottish traditions. Two days after Nacional would meet the Deutscher F. K. in a game that ended 1–1.

The land was the property of "Tranvias a la Union y Maroñas", a German streetcar company whose employees were the founders of the Deutscher F. K. The venue consisted of four tennis courts and two football fields. By 1901,the streetcar company conceded Nacional the second field as they entered the AUF league. From that year until now, the Estadio Gran Parque Central has witnessed several championships won by Nacional (the last one in 2010/2011 season) and Uruguay national football team.

Many parts of the stadium remain unchanged since 1900, like the old "Mirador" located behind the Tribuna Atilio García stand, although the current pitch is different from the one of the beginning of the past century. The current orientation is east-west, opposite to the first one that was north-south, and there was another field in the actual place of the east stands and eastern part of the pitch.

Until 1930, the Parque Central was the main sports venue in Uruguay. It was only with the building of the Estadio Centenario that Nacional's stadium was superseded.

Time of modernization

Present situation of Parque Central stadium.

The 2003 reform allowed its reopening in 2005. In this year, through the efforts of Nacional fans and the sale of modern, special seats in the Tribuna José María Delgado stand, the Estadio Gran Parque Central was remodelled once again. The aim of this remodelling was to meet international football standards, which would allow Nacional to play home games for the Uruguayan Championship and the Copa Libertadores at its historic stadium. Over the years, the stadium began to be expanded, going from 20,000 people to a capacity of 34,000 spectators, constantly growing. This increase in capacity is accompanied by works to modernize its facilities, which allowed the team to no longer have to leave the tricolor stage for any kind of event.

These changes allowed the Gran Parque Central to host the 2015 South American Under-20 tournament, the 2021 Women's Copa Libertadores final and other events, both sporting and musical. In turn, in recent years it was requested as a training ground for different teams and international teams.[19][20][21]

Together with the Centenario Stadium, it is the Uruguayan stadium with the best artificial light, with lighting of 1,500 lux, after a renovation carried out in 2021.[22] In addition, in 2022, the stadium installed a modern giant screen 15.8 meters long by 5.2 meters high, being the screen with the largest inch in the entire country.[23]

The present capacity is 34.000, but in following years it is expected to expand to 40.000 (this extension would help in the intention of Nacional to include it as a venue of the future FIFA World Cup in 2030).

Burnt almost completely after the fire of 1911,it was rebuilt a couple of years later. The second remodelling of the Estadio Gran Parque Central took place in 1944. On that occasion, improvements of the pitch and the four stands were made, and more seats were added in the main stand, Tribuna José María Delgado.

Thirty years later, the Parque Central was remodelled once again due to a fire that destroyed part of the stadium.

Some acknowledgments to the Gran Parque Central Stadium

The Gran Parque Central stadium is commonly called by the Tricolor supporters as the first World Cup stadium. In this regard, the Tricolor Temple has received several awards, like a plaque placed by FIFA in 2005 commemorating the celebration in this stadium of the first match in the history of the FIFA World Cups.

For the occasion, a FIFA delegation came to visit the works, led by its president, JOseph Blatter, with Eugenio Figueredo, Nicolás Leoz, Ricardo Texeira and Julio Grondona.[24][25]

Years later, another FIFA delegation, headed by its president Gianni Infantino, visited the Gran Parque Central stadium, emphasizing that "it is a World Cup Stadium, pure history"[26] and that "when you are in such a historic place it is a very emotional strong".[27]

«The Gran Parque Central stadium, home of the National Football Club and historical heritage of world football. Why? The first match in the history of the FIFA World Cup was played there (...) "It is a great pride to be present here with our entire entourage. Uruguay has written a golden page in the history of football"» (Joseph S. Blatter)
FIFA Official Website, in 2005.[28]

«The Central Park is the history of football. It's the first stadium, the first World Cup, the first game... so he's the true football legend, it's very impressive (...) When you're in such a historic place, it's a very strong emotion».
Gianni Infantino, president of FIFA, in 2016.[29]

«It's wonderful... just thinking that the first match of the first World Cup was played here, is something to go down in history and a satisfaction for us to be here».
Fernando Hierro, ex footballer, in 2016.[30]

«It is a stadium with a lot of history (...) This is, perhaps, the most important in the world in the football history».
Fernando Niembro, journalist at ESPN, in 2022.[31]

The Gran Parque Central stadium hosted several international sporting events. Regarding competitions with national teams, the Nacional stadium hosted some tournaments, highlighting the 1923 South American Championship, the 1924 South American Championship, the 1930 FIFA World Cup or the 2015 U20 South American Championship. In the case of the Championships South American (currently known as Copa América), the Gran Parque Central was the only venue, while in the 1930 World Cup and in the 2015 South American it hosted some matches. During the 1930 World Cup, teams such as Argentina[32] and Brazil[33] made their World Cup debuts at this stadium.

This stadium was the headquarters of the Uruguay national team, both in soccer and in other sports. Until 1930 it was the main sports arena in Uruguay, recently surpassed by the Estadio Centenario, so until the inauguration of the Estadio Centenario, Parque Central was the stadium where Uruguay played its home games.[34] In recent years, the Uruguayan rugby team played some matches here too. It is also common for foreign teams to opt for this stadium as a training camp prior to international matches.[35]

The Uruguay national football team has never lost a game in international tournaments in the Gran parque Central stadium.

1923 Copa América

During the 1923 Copa América, the stadium hosted all the matches:

Argentina  v  Paraguay

29 October 1923	Argentina	4–3	Paraguay	Gran Parque Central, Montevideo
	Saruppo 18' Aguirre 58', 77', 86'		Rivas 10' Zelada 50' Fretes 75'	Attendance: 20,0000 Referee: Ángel Minoli (Uruguay)

Uruguay  v  Paraguay

4 November 1923	Uruguay	2–0	Paraguay	Gran Parque Central, Montevideo
	Scarone 11' Petrone 88'			Attendance: 20,0000 Referee: Servando Pérez (Argentina)

Paraguay  v  Brazil

11 November 1923	Paraguay	1–0	Brazil	Gran Parque Central, Montevideo
	I. López 56'			Attendance: 15,0000 Referee: Servando Pérez (Argentina)

Argentina  v  Brazil

18 November 1923	Argentina	2–1	Brazil	Gran Parque Central, Montevideo
	Onzari 11' Saruppo 76'		Nilo 15'	Attendance: 15,0000 Referee: Miguel Barba (Paraguay)

Uruguay  v  Brazil

25 November 1923	Uruguay	2–1	Brazil	Gran Parque Central, Montevideo
	Petrone 56' Cea 75'		Nilo 59'	Attendance: 20,0000 Referee: Servando Pérez (Argentina)

Uruguay  v  Argentina

2 December 1923	Uruguay	2–0	Argentina	Gran Parque Central, Montevideo
	Petrone 28' Somma 88'			Attendance: 22,0000 Referee: Antônio Carneiro de Campos (Brazil)

1924 Copa América

During the 1924 Copa América, the stadium hosted all the matches:

Argentina  v  Paraguay

12 October 1924	Argentina	0–0	Paraguay	Gran Parque Central, Montevideo
				Attendance: 12,0000 Referee: Ángel Minoli (Uruguay)

Uruguay  v  Chile

19 October 1924	Uruguay	5–0	Chile	Gran Parque Central, Montevideo
	Petrone 40', 53', 88' Zingone 73' Romano 78'			Attendance: 15,0000 Referee: Eduardo Jara (Paraguay)

Argentina  v  Chile

25 October 1924	Argentina	2–0	Chile	Gran Parque Central, Montevideo
	Sosa 5' Loyarte 78'			Attendance: 15,0000 Referee: Ángel Minoli (Uruguay)

Uruguay  v  Paraguay

26 October 1924	Uruguay	3–1	Paraguay	Gran Parque Central, Montevideo
	Petrone 28' Romano 37' Cea 53'		Sosa 77'	Attendance: 14,0000 Referee: Alberto Parodi (Chile)

Paraguay  v  Chile

1 November 1924	Paraguay	3–1	Chile	Gran Parque Central, Montevideo
	González 15' (52) López 33'		Arellano 6'	Attendance: 10,0000 Referee: Servando Pérez (Argentina)

Uruguay  v  Argentina

2 November 1924	Uruguay	0–0	Argentina	Gran Parque Central, Montevideo
				Attendance: 20,0000 Referee: Carlos Fanta (Chile)

1930 FIFA World Cup

During the 1930 FIFA World Cup, the stadium hosted six matches:

United States  v  Belgium

13 July 1930	United States	3–0	Belgium	Gran Parque Central, Montevideo
15:00	McGhee 23' Florie 45' Patenaude 69'			Attendance: 18,346 Referee: José Macias (Argentina)

Yugoslavia  v  Brazil

14 July 1930	Yugoslavia	2–1	Brazil	Gran Parque Central, Montevideo
12:45	Tirnanic 21' Bek 30'		Preguinho 62'	Attendance: 24,059 Referee: Aníbal Tejada (Uruguay)

Argentina  v  France

15 July 1930	Argentina	1–0	France	Gran Parque Central, Montevideo
16:00	Monti 81'			Attendance: 23,409 Referee: Almeida Rego (Brazil)

Chile  v  Mexico

16 July 1930	Chile	3–0	Mexico	Gran Parque Central, Montevideo
14:45	Vidal 3', 65' Rosas 51' (o.g.)			Attendance: 9,249 Referee: Henry Cristophe (Bélgica)

Yugoslavia  v  Bolivia

17 July 1930	Yugoslavia	4–0	Bolivia	Gran Parque Central, Montevideo
12:45	Bek 60' (67) Marjanovic 65' Vujadinovic 85'			Attendance: 18,306 Referee: Francisco Mateucci (Uruguay)

United States  v  Paraguay

17 July 1930	United States	3–0	Paraguay	Gran Parque Central, Montevideo
14:45	Patenaude 10', 15', 50'			Attendance: 18,306 Referee: José Macias (Argentina)

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Estadio Gran Parque Central.

• Official website
• Tour Virtual en 360° del Parque Central - Uruguay360.com.uy

34.884373°S 56.158800°W / -34.884373; -56.158800