 Aerial view | |
 Interactive map of Estadio Monumental U | |
| Location | Lima,Peru |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 12°03′20″S76°56′09″W / 12.055665°S 76.935883°W /-12.055665; -76.935883 |
| Owner | Club Universitario de Deportes[1] |
| Operator | Club Universitario de Deportes |
| Capacity | 80,093 |
| Record attendance | 80,208 (2 July 2000) |
| Field size | 105 m × 69 m (344 ft × 226 ft) |
| Surface | Grass |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | 16 January 1991 |
| Opened | 2 July 2000 |
| Construction cost | S/.146,538,000 |
| Architect | Walter Lavalleja Sarries |
| Project manager | Walter Lavalleja Sarries |
| Main contractors | Gremco Progreso International |
| Tenants | |
| Club Universitario de Deportes (2000–present) Peru national football team (selected matches) | |
Estadio Monumental "U" is afootball stadium in the district ofAte inLima, Peru. It is the home ofClub Universitario de Deportes of thePeruvian Primera División, and it was opened in 2000 to replace theEstadio Teodoro Lolo Fernandez. Its only legal owner is the club itself.[2] Designed by Progreso International and Gremco S.A., Uruguayan architect Walter Lavalleja Sarriés led the construction of the stadium.[3][4] At the time of its construction, it became Peru's largest stadium and also thesecond largest in South America.[5][6] The stadium was built in accordance withFIFA’s manual of technical specifications forWorld Cup finals.[5]
The stadium has hosted some of thePeru national football team's international matches including FIFA World Cup Qualifiers. It also hosted the final stages of the2008 Copa Perú. However, the Monumental was absent from the organization of the2004 Copa América because of conflicts between the club and the organizers. In addition, between its opening in 2000 until 2007, only one edition of thePeruvian Clásico was played due to security concerns; however, in late 2008, the derby returned to the stadium.
On 5 November 2019, the Estadio Monumental was selected byCONMEBOL to host the2019 Copa Libertadores Final, won byFlamengo againstRiver Plate (2–1), after the outbreak of2019 Chilean protests raised security concerns about the development of the match inSantiago, city initially chosen as host.
The project was planned in 1989 as a sports complex that would include, in addition to the stadium itself, spaces for other activities and uses of theClub Universitario de Deportes. The cornerstone was laid on 16 January 1991, and the land was purchased on 18 October 1994. The fully constructed stadium was finally inaugurated on 2 July 2000, with Universitario winning 2–0 againstSporting Cristal in a match that year's Apertura Tournament. The inaugural match registered 80,208 people, becoming the most attended match held at the stadium.[7] The new stadium replaced Universitarios old stadium,Estadio Teodoro Lolo Fernández.[citation needed]
In 2010, the club created a presidential luxury box for thePresident of Peru, called the Palco PresidencialMario Vargas Llosa, in honor of the Peruvian writer and Universitario fan for winning the2010 Nobel Prize in Literature. In November that same year, seats were added on the Oriente stand in a pattern that resembles historic player,Teodoro Fernández.
Between February and March of 2016, the stadium's façade was painted in cream and maroon, and in December, its two training fields were converted from natural grass to artificial turf. On 5 November 2019, it was chosen as the venue for the first single-match final of the2019 Copa Libertadores betweenClub Atlético River Plate of Argentina andFlamengo of Brazil, a match that was played on 23 November 2019 and attended by 78,573 fans.[8] On 31 May 2021, Club Universitario de Deportes unveiled a new statue dedicated to Teodoro Fernández.[citation needed]
Towards the end of 2022,Marathon Sports won the names of the Estadio Monumental, finally in March 2023 the club announced the change in the number of the stadium by the Estadio Monumental U Marathon, converted to the first Peruvian club by ceding the number of its stadium to a sponsor. On 9 March 2023, during the Universitario's 2–0 victory in the first round of the2023 Copa Sudamericana, the club inaugurated a new LED lighting system, which allowed ultra-high definition television transmissions (4K) to be realized.[9]
On 10 August 2025, the stadium was selected to host the final of the2025 Copa Libertadores for the second time, with the match being played between Brazilian clubsPalmeiras andFlamengo.[10]
Located on Avenida Prolongación Javier Prado Este, the 80,093-seat stadium and the surrounding sport complex cover an area of 186,542 m2 (2,007,920 sq ft). There are 3 fields; the stadium field and two training grounds. The stadium is divided into two main sections; the lower section of stands for the general public and the upper section of 6 floors ofluxury boxes. The lower section of the stadium consists of four stands—known as Norte, Sur, Oriente, and Occidente (North, South, East, and West respectively)—each having its own entrance. The east and weststands are all-seaters, while the north and south stands have standingterraces. Behind the western and eastern stands, there is a handicapped zone. In the center of the western stand thePalco Oficial is situated for about 600 people, which has a private entrance and amenities such as bathrooms and a cafeteria. Together, these four stands can receive 60,000 people. The upper section consists of the luxury box suites which are 1,250 in total for 20,000 fans; the suite owners have a private parking lot.[5][11]
The main field is 18 m (59 ft) below ground level and from the outside the stadium, only the luxury suites are visible. The field is 105 m × 70 m (344 ft × 230 ft) in size. Modernfloodlighting was installed, with a total of 160 spotlights of 2,000 watts with four levels of illumination. Above the northern stand, anLED display electronicscoreboard stands which measures 8 m × 10 m (26 ft × 33 ft). Above the southern stand, a screen is situated that measures 10 m × 6 m (33 ft × 20 ft). Above the western stand, a surveillance room with eight security cameras monitoring the interiors and exteriors of the stadium. The field is watered by sprinkler irrigation.[5][11]
The stadium has four changing rooms which are below the western stand; two of them are the main changing rooms for the main game the stadium hosts, while the other two are for teams participating in a preliminary match. The changing rooms include showers, bathrooms, dressing rooms, and massage rooms. The main changing rooms have an office for the manager of the team. There is also an anti-doping room, a referees changing room, and a chapel. Below the southern stand is a changing room for musical concert personnel.[11]
In the western stand (Occidente) the first floor of the upper section was exclusively made for the media and press. There are 168 positions for newspaper journalists in addition to 32 cabins for radio broadcasts as well as 5 specially-made positions for television broadcasts. Two photography laboratories are available. Several rooms are also available for the press, press conferences, telecommunications, and accreditation.[5]
Universitario de Deportes is the Monumental's principal tenant as well as the owner of the entire sports complex. The football club plays its home games for domestic and international matches since its opening in 2000. The inaugural match was played on 2 July 2000 againstSporting Cristal for the localPrimera División with a record attendance of 54,708 fans (not counting luxury boxes). The new stadium replaced the club'sEstadio Teodoro Lolo Fernandez which now serves as the club's social headquarters in addition to a training centre. Since its opening, the most important derby of Peru has been repeatedly prohibited from being played there because of security issues. On 26 June 2002, thederby was allowed to be played for the first time at the Monumental between Universitario andAlianza Lima for theTorneo Apertura trophy. This first leg match was a 1–0 victory for Universitario; however the aftermath of the match inside and outside of stadium was disastrous leading to further prohibition of the match from the Monumental. After the derby's six-year absence from the Monumental, on 14 September 2008 the Estadio Monumental hosted a second derby after the club fought bitterly, seeking the authorities' approval to be able to host the game. This time the derby was successfully hosted without security issues and subsequently the stadium was not rejected for further derby matches in the following seasons.
ThePeru national football team has been a minor tenant of the Monumental. Although theEstadio Nacional is the national team's home venue, on more than one occasion has Peru played at the Monumental. The first match Peru played at the Monumental was on 2 June 2001 againstEcuador for the2002 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers. The match was an unfortunate 2–1 loss for the home side. A second qualifier was played later that year againstBolivia which was also their last fixture of the 2002 qualifiers which ended in a 1–1 draw. The Monumental hosted a third match for the national team in 2003, however this was only a friendly againstParaguay; the match was Peru's second loss at this stadium. Peru's fourth match at the Monumental was a new qualifying match in 2003 for the2006 FIFA World Cup againstBrazil. The match was 1–1 draw in front of 59,566 people. Due to the installation of artificial turf at the Estadio Nacional, the Estadio Monumental hosted 8 of Peru's2010 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers. Of these 8 matches, 2 wins were achieved againstVenezuela andUruguay, both 1–0 victories.
The stadium hosted theFinalisima of the2008 Copa Perú. This was the final stage of Peru's promotion tournament in which four teams played in six matches to gain promotion to the first division. The championSport Huancayo and runner-upColegio Nacional Iquitos were promoted the first division while third placeAtlético Torino and fourth placeCobresol FBC were promoted to theSegunda División.
The Monumental had a chance to be a venue for the2004 Copa América, however conflict ignited between the club and the tournament organizers which led to the absence of this stadium from the event.
| Date | Opponent | Result | Score | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 June 2001 |  Ecuador | L | 1–2 | 2002 FIFA World Cup Qualifier |
| 14 November 2001 |  Bolivia | D | 1–1 | 2002 FIFA World Cup Qualifier |
| 30 March 2003 |  Paraguay | L | 0–1 | Friendly match |
| 16 November 2003 |  Brazil | D | 1–1 | 2006 FIFA World Cup Qualifier |
| 4 September 2004 |  Argentina | L | 1–3 | 2006 FIFA World Cup Qualifier |
| 8 September 2007 |  Colombia | D | 2–2 | Friendly match |
| 12 September 2007 | Bolivia | W | 2–0 | Friendly match |
| 13 October 2007 | Paraguay | D | 0–0 | 2010 FIFA World Cup Qualifier |
| 19 November 2007 | Brazil | D | 1–1 | 2010 FIFA World Cup Qualifier |
| 14 June 2008 | Colombia | D | 1–1 | 2010 FIFA World Cup Qualifier |
| 6 September 2008 |  Venezuela | W | 1–0 | 2010 FIFA World Cup Qualifier |
| 10 September 2008 | Argentina | D | 1–1 | 2010 FIFA World Cup Qualifier |
| 28 March 2009 |  Chile | L | 1–3 | 2010 FIFA World Cup Qualifier |
| 7 June 2009 | Ecuador | L | 1–2 | 2010 FIFA World Cup Qualifier |
| 5 September 2009 |  Uruguay | W | 1–0 | 2010 FIFA World Cup Qualifier |
| 31 August 2017 | Bolivia | W | 2–1 | 2018 FIFA World Cup Qualifier |
| 6 June 2019 |  Costa Rica | W | 1–0 | Friendly match |
| 10 June 2019 | Colombia | L | 0–3 | Friendly match |
| 16 November 2022 | Paraguay | W | 1–0 | Friendly match |
| 26 March 2024 |  Dominican Republic | W | 4–1 | Friendly Match |
| 7 June 2024 | Paraguay | D | 0–0 | Friendly Match |
| 15 November 2024 | Chile | D | 0–0 | 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifier |
Estadio Monumental has played host to several world-acclaimed musical artists such as:
Other notable events took place in an open area south of the stadium premises, commonly known as "Explanada del Estadio Monumental" and often mistakenly regarded as part of the complex; not to be confused with the south parking lot actually belonging to the stadium that also serves as a music venue for shows holding less than 40,000 people.
Depeche Mode performed at the open area on 13 October 2009, during theirTour of the Universe, in front of a crowd of 30,000 people.
Nigerian PastorT.B. Joshua held a two-day crusade in September 2016 which attracted nearly 100,000 over both days and made headlines in local Peruvian media.[12][13][14]
