Anyone that has witnessed a game in South America be it live or on TV will know the difficulties of exact estimations of capacity. However, 90min magazine recently published a list of the biggest stadiums by capacity, here are the 10 largest appearing in this years Copa Libertadores.
10. Estadio Monumental (Chile) 47,347
Situated in the capital, Santiago de Chile, The Monumental is the home ground of Chilean giants Colo-Colo. The stadium officially holds 47,347 spectators and hosted the 1991 Copa Libertadores final which saw Colo-Colo become the first and only Chilean winner.
Flickr / Constanza Lopez
9. Nuevo Gasómetro (Argentina) 47,500
While the venue is currently the home of San Lorenzo, the club originates from a different district and have recently won a long running court battle to return to the their native neighborhood. The Nuevo Gasómetro holds 47,500 and is situated in the Bajo Flores district of Buenos Aires, infamous for housing the largest slum in the city.h
Flickr / yonolatengo
8. Estadio Ciudad de La Plata (Argentina) 53,000
One of the more modern stadiums that Argentina has, this 53,000 seater stadium opened in 2003 and will this year see 41 year old Juan Sebastian Veron return to grace its field.
Flickr / Nico_
7. Estadio Monumental Isidro Romero Carbo (Ecuador) 57,267
The stadium in which Barcelona have played for 20 years is a truly spectacular arena and famed for its atmousphere. The stadium is often referred to as ‘The Temple’ and is distinct in Andean terms as the stands are close to the field of play creating a unique atmosphere.
6. Monumental de la UNSA (Peru) – 60,000
The multi purpose stadium in Arequipa is home to FCB Melgar and was opened in 1993 by controversial president Fujimori and has remained a multi purpose stadium used for big games and events.
5. Centenario (Uruguay) – 60,235
The stadium built to host the first World Cup in 1930 is an undoubtedly historic piece of architecture and is the perfect representation of the golden age of Rio Platenense football which FIFA acknowledged when it declared it as one of its classic stadiums. Nowadays the national teams continue to play there while Uruguayan sides can rent it for a big occasion which is normally the case when one reaches the latter stages of the Libertadores.
4. Arena do Gremio (Brasil) – 60,540
The home ground of Gremio is arguably the most impressive modern stadium in the continent, the stadium opened in 2010 and has held a number of high profile games and concerts since its inauguration.
Flickr / United Nations Development Programme
3. El Monumental (Argentina) – 65,645
Globally recognizable for its oval design, River Plate’s estadio Monumental continues to provide the backdrop for most major sporting and music events in the country despite having stood for almost 80 years with minimal redevelopments. There have been suggestions from Club President that there are plans in place to expand the stadium, currently the stadium remains at its current capacity of 65,645.
Flickr / Esteban Fernández García
2. Maracaná (Brasil) – 78,838
The mythical stadium that once held 200,000 is surprisingly number 2 in the list due to a number of redevelopments for all the recent International tournaments that Rio has hosted. Flamengo continue to use the stadium for home games despite much criticism of the redevelopments as fans believe the stadium has been left void of its soul due to the segregation of fans by differing ticket prices.
1. Monumental de la U (Peru) – 80,093
A truly unique stadium owing to the boxes being positioned above the terraces. Both the national team and Universitario play their home games in the stadium situated in the extreme east of Lima.
By MicroX (Own work) via Wikimedia Commons
