Estadio GEBA

GEBA Stadium

Estadio GEBA
Interior view of the stadium in 2008
Full name	Estadio Gimnasia y Esgrima de Buenos Aires
Location	Av. Marcelino Freyre 3831 Buenos Aires, Argentina
Coordinates	34°34′4″S58°25′8″W / 34.56778°S 58.41889°W / -34.56778; -58.41889
Owner	Club Gimnasia y Esgrima
Capacity	12,133
Surface	Grass
Construction
Opened	1902;122 years ago (1902)
Renovated	1935
Tenants
GEBA football (1906–?) GEBA rugby (1906–?) Argentina football team (1908–1919) Argentina rugby team (1925–1969)

The Estadio GEBA is a stadium located in the Palermo neighbourhood of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Owned by Club Gimnasia y Esgrima, the stadium is located on the "Sede Jorge Newbery", ^{[1] [2]} one of the three facilities of the club. Its current capacity is 12,133 spectators. ^[3]

The stadium was the main football venue during the 1900s and 1910s, having held matches of the Argentina national team and some club matches during that period. The football team of the club (that played in Primera División from 1911 to 1917) also used the stadium for its home games. After the arson of 1916, the stadium was for a time used mainly for rugby union matches. Nowadays, Estadio GEBA is used for music concerts, having hosted many artists performing there. ^[4]

History

The stadium the day it was inaugurated, 1902

During its first years of existence, the club used facilities such as Sociedad Rural Argentina's venue in Palermo, where athletics competition were held. In 1900 the Municipality of Buenos Aires gave in concession to the club a land that had been used by the Buenos Aires and Rosario Railway (BA&RR). On 12 October 1902, Gimnasia y Esgrima inaugurated its field, built on that land. The field was also known as "Maldonado" due to its proximity to the homonymous stream. ^[5]

The football team of the club affiliated to the Association (AFA) in 1906, promoting to Primera División in 1910. The stadium was a frequent venue for the squad during its years in Primera, from 1911 to 1917, the year the club disaffiliated from the Association. The GEBA stadium also hosted athletic competitions and rugby union matches, being often used by athletic teams of the University of Buenos Aires. ^[5]

The Argentina national football team played in GEBA on 13 September 1908, for the Copa Newton v. Uruguay. That match has a historic relevance for being the first time Argentine wore the light blue and white striped jersey, which would be the definitive uniform up to present days. ^[6] The stadium also hosted the matches where River Plate beat Racing Club by 2–1 before promoting to Primera División for the first time. ^[7] In 1911, defunct team Alumni played its last game at GEBA on 26 November 1911, when the team beat Porteño by 2–1 winning its 10th. Primera División title. ^[8] The club would not play any official match again, being dissolved two years later. ^{[9] [10]}

Due to the small dimensions of the field, spectators often placed under a BA&RR viaduct to watch the matches held in GEBA. The club took advantage of that and built a grandstand just below the viaduct, that was inaugurated in 1909 during a Copa Lipton match between Argentina and Uruguay national teams. Nevertheless, in 1910 the BA&RR dismantled the viaduct to move the tracks. It allowed the club to expand the lateral grandstand of the venue. The stadium was completely refurbished to hold the football matches of "Juegos Deportivos del Centenario", sport competitions in commemoration of the Argentince Centennial. A grandstand was built on the side next to the railway. On the side next to Río de la Plata, another one was built while the official grandstand was located on the Maldonado stream side. It consisted in a two-floor wooden structure, similar to the existing in the Hipódromo Argentino de Palermo. ^[5] GEBA was also a frecquent venue for Tie Cup, an international football club competition, since 1909. ^[11]

Alumni v Porteño, 1911 Primera División final at GEBA

The refurbished stadium hosted two matches of Copa Centenario Revolución de Mayo held in 1910 and considered a predecessor of current Copa América. In 1910, English club Swindon Town played in GEBA some matches during their tour on Argentina where the team also played San Isidro, Estudiantes de Buenos Aires and the Argentina national team. ^[12] Legendary team Alumni played its last official game (the 1911 championship playoff vs. Porteño) at Gimnasia y Esgrima before being dissolved that same year. ^[13] Even one of the Superclásico editions was played at GEBA, on 9 May 1915 for the Copa de Competencia Jockey Club.

The crowd setting fire to the grandstands after the match v. Uruguay was suspended, July 1916

GEBA also hosted all games of the first edition of Copa América, held in Buenos Aires in 1916. ^[14] The final between Argentina and Uruguay was attended by more than 40,000 spectators that largely exceeded the capacity of the venue, calculated in 10,000. Because of that, the match had to be suspended. In disagreement with the decision, the angry crowd set fire to the stadium. The match had to be reprogrammed for the next day in the Racing Club stadium. The arson caused a large inactivity for the venue, which would not be reopened until 1918. The club did not rebuilt the fired grandstands, replacing them with a running track ^[5]

The Argentina national team played its last game at GEBA on 19 October 1919, when the squad won the Copa Premier Honor Argentino after thrashing Uruguay by 6–1, ^[15] During the 1920s, the venue was still one of the biggest in Argentina, hosting some Primera División matches of both associations, AFA and AAmF. A match between AFA and AAmF was played at GEBA on 9 December 1924, as an attempt to reunify both associations, although it would not be carried out until 1926. The attendance was higher than expected, largely surpassing the capacity of the field. That was the last football match held in GEBA. ^[5]

From 1925 on, the stadium mainly hosted rugby union matches. During 45 years it would be the most frequent venue for that sport, with the Argentina national team playing there its international games. In 1927, the stadium hosted its first international rugby match when Argentina played v the British Isles during their second visit to the country. ^{[16] [17] [18]}

Argentina v British Lions at GEBA, 1936

In the middle 1930s, the stadium was completely refurbished, building new concrete grandstands. Once more, GEBA hosted an international rugby game when Argentina played v the British Lions during their third tour on the country in 1936. ^[19]

In 1951, GEBA and Ferro Carril Oeste were the stadiums of the first South American Rugby Championship held in Buenos Aires. ^[20] The 1969 Scotland tour on Argentina would be the last time the national team played their home matches at GEBA. ^[21]

Since 1970, the Argentina national rugby team started using larger stadiums, ^[22] such as Ferro Carril Oeste (1970–85) ^[23] or Vélez Sársfield (since 1986). ^[24] Nevertheless, the Estadio GEBA would continue hosting rugby union matches on some occasions, such as the 1993 South American Championship ^[25] and some friendly matches that same year. ^[26]

Tenants

Some teams that have played their home matches at Estadio GEBA are:

Team	Period
Gimnasia y Esgrima football team	c. 1906–1917
Gimnasia y Esgrima rugby team	c. 1906–?
Argentina national football team	1908–1919
Argentina national rugby team	1927–1969, 1993

Sporting events

Along its existence, the stadium has hosted several sports events, the following list compiles some of the most relevant:

Football

Event	Year/s
Copa Newton	1908, 1918
Copa Premier Honor Argentino	1908–1919
Tie Cup	1909, 1910, 1911, 1915, 1918
Copa Lipton	1909, 1911, 1915, 1919
Copa Centenario Revolución de Mayo	1910
Primera División Final [note 1]	1911
Copa Roca	1914
Copa América	1916
Copa Aldao	1916, 1918
Copa Campeonato del Río de la Plata	1923

Rugby

Event	Year/s
British & Irish Lions tour	1927, 1936
France tour	1949, 1954, 1960
South American Championship	1951, 1993
South Africa tour [note 2]	1959, 1966
Wales tour	1968
Scotland tour	1969
Ireland tour	1952

Notes

1. GEBA hosted the Alumni v Porteño final, won by Alumni. The game has a historical relevance so it was the last official match of the legendary team, dissolved that same year. ^{[9] [27]}
2. Representative teams were Junior Springboks (1932) and "Gazzelles" (1966).

Gallery

• 
  Official grandstand, 1902
• 
  Grandstand built under a railway viaduct, 1909
• 
  Running track built after the arson, c. 1920
• 
  The stadium c. 1930s
• 
  Concrete grandstand and track, c. 1935

Music concerts

Queen + Adam Lambert stage at GEBA during their 2014–2015 tour

The club usually rents two of its facilities for concerts and events, being the Jorge Newbery facility the most used for those purposes.

Many international artists touring on Argentina have played at Estadio GEBA, being some of them: Ozzy Osbourne, Luis Miguel, Duran Duran, Rush, Peter Gabriel, System of a Down, Sepultura, INXS, Lenny Kravitz, Noel Gallagher, Rod Stewart, and Bruce Springsteen, among many others.

Concerts hosted at Estadio GEBA
Artist	Date/s	Tour	Ref.
Kylie Minogue	Nov 2008	KylieX2008	[28]
Duran Duran	Nov 2008	The Red Carpet Massacre Tour	[29]
Gloria Estefan	Abr 2009	90 Millas World Tour	[30]
The Killers	Nov 2009, Mar 2013	Day & Age World Tour	[31]
David Bisbal	Oct 2010	Sin Mirar Atrás	[32]
The Black Eyed Peas	Nov 2010	The E.N.D. World Tour	[33]
Rush	Oct 2010	Time Machine Tour	[34]
Marc Anthony	Feb 2011, Sep 2018
Jamiroquai	May 2011		[35]
Peter Gabriel	Nov 2011	New Blood Tour	[36]
Sepultura	Mar 2011		[37]
Armin van Buuren	Abr 2011
Snow Patrol	Sep 2011		[38]
Primal Scream	Sep 2011		[38]
System of a Down	Oct 2011	Reunion Tour	[39]
Nick Jonas & The Administration	Jul 2011
The Strokes	Nov 2011		[40]
White Lies	Nov 2011
Beady Eye	Nov 2011
INXS	Nov 2011		[40]
Sonic Youth	Nov 2011		[40]
Lenny Kravitz	Oct 2011		[41]
Broken Social Scene	Nov 2011		[40]
Katy Perry	Sep 2011	California Dreams Tour	[42]
Ozzy Osbourne	Mar 2011	Scream World Tour	[43]
Selena Gomez	Feb 2012	We Own the Night Tour	[44]
Luis Miguel	May 2012	Luis Miguel Tour	[45]
Morrisey	Mar 2012
Linkin Park	Oct 2012	Living Things World Tour	[46]
Big Time Rush	Oct 2012	Big Time Summer Tour	[47]
Jennifer Lopez	Jun 2012		[48]
The Wanted	Oct 2012		[47]
Noel Gallagher	May 2012		[49]
Alicia Keys	Sep 2013		[50]
Bruce Springsteen	Sep 2013	Wrecking Ball Tour	[51]
Muse	Oct 2013	The 2nd Law World Tour	[52]
Alejandro Sanz	Nov 2013		[53]
Rod Stewart	Feb 2014		[54]
Miley Cyrus	Oct 2014	Bangerz Tour	[55]
Queen + Adam Lambert	Sep 2015	2014–15	[56]
Laura Pausini	Sep 2016	Stadi Tour	[57]
Juan Luis Guerra	Mar 2017	Todo Tiene su Hora Tour	[58]
Enrique Iglesias	Abr 2018	Enrique Iglesias Live	[59]

References

1. "Estadio GEBA at VuenosAirez.com". Archived from the original on 2014-10-27. Retrieved 2014-09-25.
2. "Estadio GEBA at Time for Fun website". Archived from the original on 2015-08-22. Retrieved 2014-09-25.
3. World Soccer Yearbook, 2002-3: The Complete Guide to the Game by David Goldblatt (2002), published by Dk Pub – ISBN   0-7894-8943-0
4. "Estadio GEBA sede Jorge Newbery" on Entradasx.com Archived 2012-06-25 at the Wayback Machine
5. "El estadio de Maldonado" on Viejos Estadios website
6. Argentine national team archives by Héctor Pelayes on RSSSF.com
7. Racing - River y una muy sospechosa final by Ricardo de Titto on La Nueva.com, 14 Dec 2014
8. Argentina 1911 by Pablo Ciullini on RSSSF website
9. Alumni, Cuna de Campeones y Escuela de Hidalguía by Ernesto Escobar Bavio – Editorial Difusión, Buenos Aires (Published 1953)
10. "Alumni: en el nombre del fútbol" on Clarín, 2003-04-21
11. Cup Tie Competition - detailed tournaments on the RSSSF
12. Argentina national team - List of Other Matches 1901-2008 by Héctor Pelayes on RSSSF.com
13. Argentina 1911 at RSSSF
14. Southamerican Championship 1916 at RSSSF
15. Copa Premio Honor Argentino on RSSSF
16. El Gráfico No. 424, 20 August 1927
17. 1927 Argentina on British Lions website (Archive, 21 Jan 2012)
18. "Lions (segundo viaje olvidado)" by Ricardo Sabanes on Periodismo Rugby, 24 May 2017
19. Lions (tercer viaje olvidado) by Ricardo Sabanes on Periodismo Rugby website, 1 Jun 2017
20. Un siglo en pequeñas historias by Martín Estévez, El Gráfico, 28 Mar 2017
21. Memoria y Balance 1969 Archived 2022-09-26 at the Wayback Machine on UAR website
22. Gimnasia y Esgrima de Buenos Aires y su historia, a Primera by Jorge Búsico, La Nación, 25 Sep 2014
23. Memoria y Balance 1970 Archived 2022-12-20 at the Wayback Machine on UAR website
24. Memoria y Balance 1986 on UAR website
25. Los Pumas hicieron historia, La Prensa, 17 Feb 2004
26. "Argentina at ground: GEBA", ESPN Scrum.com
27. ""Alumni Athletic Club" at BAEHS website". Archived from the original on 23 July 2012. Retrieved 20 December 2012.
28. Kylie Minogue por primera vez, El Día
29. "Duran Duran: Espíritu implacable", Rolling Stone Argentine edition Archived 2015-08-22 at the Wayback Machine , 11 Nov 2008
30. Gloria Estefan cantó ante una multitud en GEBA ^{[ permanent dead link ]}, Infobae, 19 Apr 2009
31. "La música que viene, después de la gripe", La Nación, 11 Jul 2009
32. Top 5: Los hits de David Bisbal on La Nación
33. "Una multitud disfrutó del show de Black Eyed Peas en GEBA", Ambito Financiero, 7 Nov 2010
34. "Rush: la poderosa máquina del tiempo". LA NACION. Retrieved 2024-01-02.
35. "Jamiroquai hizo bailar a GEBA". soy rock. Retrieved 2024-01-02.
36. "Peter Gabriel brilló en el estadio de GEBA", Infobae.com, 19 Nov 2011
37. ""Sepultura en Argentina"". Archived from the original on 2011-03-07. Retrieved 2019-04-06.
38. "Primal Scream and Snow Patrol at GEBA" at Songkick, 28 Sep 2011
39. System of a Down en GEBA Archived 2015-09-24 at the Wayback Machine on RollingStone (Argentine edition), 6 Oct 2011
40. "Sonic Youth, INXS, The Kills y más", 5 Nov 2011
41. "Lenny Kravitz subió la sensación térmica en GEBA" on BlueFM.com Archived 2013-09-16 at the Wayback Machine , 3 Oct 2011
42. "Katy Perry, Septiembre 2011 - GEBA". argentinashows.com. Retrieved 2024-01-02.^{[ permanent dead link ]}
43. "Ozzy Osbourne hizo vibrar a GEBA", Diarioshow.com, 27 Mar 2011
44. "Selena Gomez brilló en GEBA y se emocionó con su fans", Ciudad.com, 11 Feb 2012
45. "Luis Miguel hará dos conciertos en GEBA con su 'The Hits Tour'", Clarín, 4 May 2012
46. "La revancha del nü metal", Clarín, 7 Oct 2012
47. "Big Time Rush y The Wanted despertaron la histeria adolescente en el estadio GEBA", Télam Archived 2012-12-19 at the Wayback Machine , 7 Oct 2012
48. "Jennifer Lopez brilló en GEBA". LA NACION. Retrieved 2024-01-02.
49. "Noel Gallagher en GEBA" at RollingStone Archived 2015-06-09 at the Wayback Machine , 7 May 2012
50. "Alicia Keys deslumbró con su show en GEBA", Infobae.com, 21 Sep 2013
51. "New show added in Buenos Aires". brucespringsteen.net. Retrieved 2013-08-07.
52. "Muse: Un show supremo en Geba". metro951.com. Retrieved 2024-01-02.
53. "Alejandro Sanz: una velada llena de carisma y seducción", Clarín, 8 Mar 2013
54. "Rod Stewart en G.E.B.A.: clásicos resplandecientes con el paso del tiempo" at TN.com.ar, 22 Feb 2014
55. "Miley Cyrus: Delirio pop con la ex chica Disney". 4 October 2014.
56. Queen + Adam Lambert: crónica de una noche apasionada, La Nación
57. Laura Pausini le hizo frente al frío, Clarín
58. Juan L. Guerra at GEBA, Diario Popular
59. Enrique Iglesias convirtió GEBA en un gran karaoke, El Tribuno

External links

• Official website

Preceded by (none)	Copa América 1916	Succeeded by Parque Pereira Montevideo
Preceded by (none)	South American Rugby Championship 1951	Succeeded by (various)
Preceded by (various)	South American Rugby Championship 1993	Succeeded by (various)