 The stadium in 2006 | |
 | |
| Location | Gobernador Piñero, San Juan, Puerto Rico |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 18°25′0″N66°4′23″W / 18.41667°N 66.07306°W /18.41667; -66.07306 |
| Owner | Municipality of San Juan |
| Operator | Municipality of San Juan |
| Capacity | 18,264 (baseball)40,000 (concerts) |
| Field size | Left Field – 325 ft (99 m) Left-Center – 375 ft (114 m) Center Field – 404 ft (123 m) Right-Center – 375 ft (114 m) Right Field – 325 ft (99 m) Backstop – 60 ft (18 m) |
| Surface | Natural grass (1962–1994) AstroTurf (1995–2003) FieldTurf (2004–2015) Turf Nation (2015–present) |
| Construction | |
| Built | 1962 |
| Opened | 1963 |
| Construction cost | 4.3M |
| Architect | Orval E. Sifontes Fontan AIA |
| Structural engineer | Martinez y Costa |
| General contractor | R.P. Farnsworth & Co. |
| Tenants | |
| Senadores de San Juan (LBPRC) (1962–1974, 1984–2000, 2003–2004, 2010–2011, 2014–2015) Cangrejeros de Santurce (LBPRC) (1962–1982, 1989–2004, 2008–2009, 2012–present) RA12 (LBPRC) (2020–2024) Atléticos de San Juan (PRSL) (2008–2011) Academia Quintana (PRSL) (2008–2011) Montreal Expos (MLB) (2003–2004; secondary) | |
Hiram Bithorn Municipal Stadium | |
| NRHP reference No. | 13001118 |
| Added to NRHP | 22 January 2014 |
Hiram Bithorn Stadium (Spanish:Estadio Hiram Bithorn) is abaseball park inSan Juan, Puerto Rico, built in 1962 and designed by Puerto Rican architect Pedro Miranda.[1] The stadium is home to theCangrejeros de Santurce of thePuerto Rican Baseball League (LBPRC), and briefly was home toMajor League Baseball'sMontreal Expos during their final years.
It is operated by the municipal government of the city of San Juan. Its name honors the first Puerto Rican to play in the major leagues,Hiram Bithorn, who first played with theChicago Cubs in 1942. Built in 1962, under the mayoral administration ofFelisa Rincón de Gautier as a replacement forEstadio Sixto Escobar, it was added to theNational Register of Historic Places in 2014.[2]
The stadium has approximately 18,000 seats. The stadium is 325 feet (99 m) down the left-field line, 325 feet (99 m) down the right-field line and 404 feet (123 m) to center field. The fences are 8 feet (2.5 m) high. When the Expos played home games at Hiram Bithorn, the field dimensions were set to match Olympic Stadium in Montreal.[3]
The Hiram Bithorn Stadium was opened in 1962.
The firstoutdoorNational Basketball Association game was played between thePhoenix Suns and theMilwaukee Bucks on September 24, 1972, during that year's preseason. The Suns defeated the Bucks, 116–103.
In the mid-1990s Hiram Bithorn Stadium was planned to be the home of the yet-to-be-named Puerto Rico team, a charter franchise of theUnited League (UL) which was a planned third league ofMajor League Baseball (MLB).
The stadium hostedMajor League Baseball's Opening Day Game in 2001, in which theToronto Blue Jays faced theTexas Rangers in anAmerican League match-up.[4] However, 4,000 who bought tickets were turned away when the police determined the safe capacity of the park had been vastly exceeded.
It was the object of a major overhaul under the mayoral administration ofJorge Santini, before becoming the part-time home of theMontreal Expos of theNational League in2003 and2004 before their move toWashington, D.C. as theWashington Nationals. The Expos played 20 "home" games across the two seasons as a result of poor attendance at their homeOlympic Stadium in Montreal. Before Major League Baseball's announcement of the Montreal Expos' move to Washington, Puerto Rico and San Juan made an effort to lure the Expos franchise to the island territory permanently.
Hiram Bithorn Stadium hosted parts of the first two rounds of the2006 World Baseball Classic.Pool C, which included the teams ofPuerto Rico,Cuba,Panama, andthe Netherlands, was played there. It also hostedPool 2 of the second round of the Classic which featured Cuba, Puerto Rico,the Dominican Republic, andVenezuela, the top two finishers fromPool C andPool D.Pool D games of the2009 World Baseball Classic were played there between March 7 and March 11, 2009. The Hiram Bithorn Stadium hosted the2013 World Baseball Classic withPuerto Rico,Venezuela, theDominican Republic and newcomersSpain in Pool C.
In 2008, it served as the stadium forAtléticos de San Juan andAcademia Quintana, two soccer teams in thePuerto Rico Soccer League,Puerto Rico's first-ever professional soccer league.
In 2010, Major League Baseball returned to the stadium, as theFlorida Marlins faced theNew York Mets in a three-game series during the regular season.[5]
The Marlins were to play thePittsburgh Pirates on May 30 and 31, 2016 in honor of Roberto Clemente Day. However, on May 6, 2016, it was announced that the Puerto Rico games would be postponed due to theZika virus outbreak, and moved toMarlins Park.[6]
The Hiram Bithorn Stadium was damaged as a result ofHurricane Maria on September 20, 2017.
TheCleveland Indians andMinnesota Twins played a two-game series at Hiram Bithorn Stadium on April 17 and 18, 2018.[7] It is the first time since 2010 that a Major League Baseball regular-season game was played in Puerto Rico. Furthermore, the league announced in August 2019 that they would be returning for a three-game series in April 2020 between theMiami Marlins andNew York Mets.[8] This series was later cancelled as a result of theCOVID-19 pandemic.[9]
There have been, as of June 2020, 71 professional boxing events that have been held at the stadium, including many world championship fights.[10] Two-time World Lightweight ChampionCarlos Ortíz won four Lightweight title bouts in the stadium, regaining his championship fromIsmael Laguna in 1965 and retaining it against Doug Valiant in 1963,Kenny Lane in 1964, andSugar Ramos in 1967. Also, former world heavyweight championFloyd Patterson fought there late in his career.[11]
Along with sporting events, the stadium has hosted concerts by many famous artists.
Metallica were scheduled to perform during theirNowhere Else to Roam Tour on April 28, 1993, but it was rained out and never rescheduled.
Shakira has performed twice, during herTour Anfibio, on April 9, 2000, and during theTour of the Mongoose, on March 22, 2003.
On March 10, 11, and 12 of 2023, the Colombian singerKarol G performed three special shows at the stadium, in support of her 2023 albumMañana Será Bonito. Special guests includedBad Gyal,Feid, Maldy,Romeo Santos, andSean Paul.
Some of the concerts that have been held at the venue:
Professional Wrestling:
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