| Estadio Único Madre de Ciudades | |
Estadio Único de Santiago del Estero | |
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 Interactive map of Unique Madre de Ciudades Stadium | |
| Full name | Estadio Único Madre de Ciudades |
|---|---|
| Location | Belgrano Avenue,Santiago del Estero, Argentina |
| Owner | Government of Santiago del Estero |
| Capacity | 30,000 (expandable to 42,000) |
| Field size | 105 x 70 m |
| Surface | Grass |
| Construction | |
| Built | June 2018 – May 2020 |
| Opened | 4 March 2021; 4 years ago (2021-03-04)[1][2] |
| Construction cost | AR$ 1,500 million[3] |
| Architect | Luciani Asociados Arquitectos – Enrique Lombardi[1] |
| Builder | MIJOVI Astori[3] |
| Tenants | |
TheEstadio Único Madre de Ciudades is afootballstadium located in the city ofSantiago del Estero in thehomonymous province ofArgentina. The stadium was inaugurated on 4 March 2021, before the2019 Supercopa Argentina match contested byRiver Plate andRacing Club. ThePresident of ArgentinaAlberto Fernández attended the ceremony.[1]
The Estadio Único was expected to host some matches during the binational2020 Copa América to be held in Argentina andColombia.[2] However, due to theCOVID-19 pandemic, the tournament was rescheduled to 2021 and eventually moved to Brazil. The stadium held its first international match on 3 June 2021, hosting the2022 FIFA World Cup qualification match betweenChile andArgentina.
The stadium, the largest venue in the province, is owned and administered by the provincial government and has a seating capacity of over 30,000 spectators. The stadium facilities include a restaurant, a museum, a game room, and parking lots.[3]
On 13 April 2018, Santiago del Estero's governorGerardo Zamora, along with theArgentine Football Association (AFA)'s presidentClaudio Tapia, presented a new stadium project in the province, which was accepted. Both authorities signed an agreement for the stadium to hostqualification matches for theArgentina national football team and to be nominated as one of the host stadiums during the2021 Copa América, since Argentina and Colombia were organizing the event.
Another objective for the stadium is to be one of the potential hosts of the2030 FIFA World Cup if theSouthern Cone's bid is chosen as the winning venue to host it byFIFA.
Construction started in June 2018, and in July 2019, the Estadio Único was confirmed as one of the hosts of the 2021 Copa América. However, in November of that year,CONMEBOL questioned that nomination after seeing the low progresson construction. Finally, on 3 December 2019, the stadium was again confirmed to be one of the hosts of the final tournament.
After the draw, the stadium was scheduled to host two matches, betweenUruguay andParaguay andChile national football team against Paraguay, on 27 June. However, the immediate emergence of theCOVID-19 pandemic worldwide disrupted the tournament's organization, so the cup was postponed to the next year. In May 2020, the stadium was chosen to host theCopa Sudamericana finals for three years, and in August, CONMEBOL gave the stadium a match between theChile national football team and Paraguay on 23 June 2021.
The stadium was named "Estadio Único Madre de Ciudades" (in English,Mother of Cities Stadium). This name was chosen as a tribute to Santiago del Estero, founded on 25 July 1553. As the oldest city of Argentina, it gained the nickname "Madre de Ciudades", which was used by theSpanish Empire before founding more cities across northern Argentina.[4]
In 2010, the architect and former president ofEstudiantes de La Plata, Enrique Lombardi,[1] named the project as the winner of a local competition. The stadium was built on a site located to the north of the city of Santiago del Estero on the banks of theDulce River. The land is surrounded by Carretero Bridge and the city's botanical garden, and is connected to theTren al Desarrollo by a station.
The project itself consists of a cylindrical stadium with fully covered grandstands, with a capacity of 29,000 seated spectators. It includes VIP sectors, restaurant spaces and a covered parking lot with a capacity for 400 cars. In addition, the stadium was designed with a main access plaza, a sports museum and a press area. The design complies with FIFA, CONMEBOL and AFA standards. The plaza includes a bronze statue ofDiego Maradona measuring 5 metres (16 ft).[5]
The first notable event held in the stadium was the2019 Supercopa Argentina played byRiver Plate againstRacing Club on 4 March 2021. The stadium was expected to host some matches of the2021 Copa América,[1] but the tournament was eventually moved to Brazil. The stadium is expected to host some matches of the2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup.
| Date | Time (UTC−03) | Team 1 | Result | Team 2 | Round | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 May 2023 | 15:00 |  Guatemala | 0–1 |  New Zealand | Group A | 15,100 |
| 20 May 2023 | 18:00 |  Argentina | 2–1 |  Uzbekistan | Group A | 37,233 |
| 23 May 2023 | 15:00 | Uzbekistan | 2–2 | New Zealand | Group A | 12,243 |
| 23 May 2023 | 18:00 | Argentina | 3–0 | Guatemala | Group A | 37,033 |
| 26 May 2023 | 15:00 |  Ecuador | 9–0 |  Fiji | Group B | 9,958 |
| 26 May 2023 | 18:00 | Uzbekistan | 2–0 | Guatemala | Group A | 15,357 |
| 1 Jun 2023 | 14:30 |  Gambia | 0–1 |  Uruguay | Round of 16 | 7,644 |
| 1 Jun 2023 | 18:00 | Ecuador | 2–3 |  South Korea | Round of 16 | 12,492 |
| 4 Jun 2023 | 14:30 | South Korea | 1–0 (a.e.t.) |  Nigeria | Quarter-finals | 10,298 |
| 4 Jun 2023 | 18:00 |  United States | 0–2 | Uruguay | Quarter-finals | 18,474 |
| Date | Time (UTC−03) | Event | Team #1 | Res. | Team #2 | Attend. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 Mar 2021 | 22:10 | 2019 Supercopa Argentina | Racing | 0–5 | River Plate | |
| 3 Jun 2021 | 21:00 | 2022 World Cup Qualification | Argentina | 1–1 |  Chile | |
| 8 Dec 2021 | 21:10 | 2020 Copa Argentina Final | Talleres (C) | 0–0(4–5p) | Boca Juniors | 30,000 |
| 18 Dec 2021 | 21:10 | 2021 Trofeo de Campeones | River Plate | 4–0 | Colón | |
| 1 Mar 2023 | 21:15 | 2022 Supercopa Argentina | Boca Juniors | 3–0 | Patronato | |
| 28 Mar 2023 | 20:30 | Friendly | Argentina | 7–0 |  Curaçao | 42,000 |
The stadium hosted its first ever international rugby union match asArgentina hostedScotland on Saturday 16 July in the third test match of a three test series between the two sides during the2022 July rugby union tests.
| Date | Event | Team #1 | Result | Team #2 | Attendance | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 Jul 2022 | 2022 mid-year test | Argentina | 34–31 |  Scotland | 30,000 | [6] |
| 21 Sep 2024 | 2024 Rugby Championship | Argentina | 29–28 |  South Africa | [6] |
The construction of the stadium received criticism by some parts of the press for being carried out in the midst of theeconomic crisis that plagued the country, the government's struggle torestructure Argentina's debt. The stadium was also criticized for being considered a priority of the provincial government, ahead of the existing poverty situation in the province of Santiago del Estero (about 70%). According to theINDEC, Santiago del Estero ranks first in the provinces in a critical state of unemployment throughout Argentina and ranks relatively low compared to other provinces on theHuman Development Index.[3]
The provincial governor, Gerardo Zamora, defended the construction of the stadium by arguing it helped promote Santiago del Estero as a "headquarters for international football" and a "tourism hotspot", as well as by citing the direct and indirect creation of jobs in its construction process.[7]
| Preceded by (various venues in Poland) | FIFA U-20 World Cup 2023 | Succeeded by TBD |
27°45′58.00″S64°16′12.00″W / 27.7661111°S 64.2700000°W /-27.7661111; -64.2700000
