Estadio Metropolitano Roberto Meléndez
| El Metro | |
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| Full name | Estadio Metropolitano Roberto Meléndez |
|---|---|
| Former names | Estadio Metropolitano |
| Location | Barranquilla, Colombia |
| Coordinates | 10°55′N 74°48′W / 10.917°N 74.800°W |
| Capacity | 49,692 |
| Field size | 110 x 75 |
| Surface | Grass |
| Scoreboard | 2 LED |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | 1975 |
| Opened | 1986 |
| Renovated | 2011 |
| Construction cost | $8,965,470,000 Colombian pesos |
| Architect | José Francisco Ramos |
| Tenants | |
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Colombia national football team Junior Barranquilla |
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Estadio Metropolitano Roberto Meléndez, commonly known as Estadio Metropolitano, or colloquially, El Metro, is a multi-use all-seater football stadium in Barranquilla, Colombia. It is the home stadium of local football team Junior. It was built with a capacity of 49,612 for the Colombian World Cup bid in 1986. The stadium was inaugurated that year with a game between Uruguay and Junior, which the Uruguayans won 2–1. It is still the largest stadium in Colombia. The first official name of the stadium was Estadio Metropolitano, which was changed around 1991 in order to honor the Colombian footballer Roberto Meléndez. This is the official stadium for the national football team of Colombia.
Before the construction of Estadio Metropolitano, the city only had the Romelio Martínez Stadium, which was built in 1934 with a capacity of 10,000 spectators. Since the advent of professional football to Barranquilla in 1948, it became evident the need for a sports arena that would house the football fans.
In the early 1970s, the expansion of the Romelio Martínez Stadium was projected with the construction of new bleachers for the sports arena. However, an architectural error would force the reduction of the 72nd Street to complete the works. After some time it was decided to demolish the new forum yet unfinished in the midst of strong criticism, which the local press called the Gallery of Shame. Due to the large amount of money being spent on this project, it failed because subsequent studies showed the impossibility of conducting a proper extension to the scenario, it was decided that the best solution was to design an entirely new football stadium for the city.
In 1979, the governor of the department of Atlántico, Pedro Martín Leyes presented President Julio César Turbay the project to build a new stadium in Barranquilla, supported the idea of doing a host of World Cup 1986 to be held in Colombia. The project is approved and the foundation stone for the building is placed on December 7 of 1979 in an area of 30 hectares, located on the avenue Circunvalar with Murillo Street, donated by the Instituto de Crédito Territorial (Inscredial). For its construction the firm Metrofútbol was formed, led by architect Jaime de Biasse. José Francisco Ramos was appointed as architect of the stadium, awarding construction to engineer Julio Gerlein and electrical Engineer Luis Gonzalo Prada Ch.
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