Estadio Malvinas Argentinas

Not to be confused with Microestadio Malvinas Argentinas.

Malvinas Argentinas Stadium

Estadio Malvinas Argentinas
Former names	Estadio Ciudad de Mendoza
Address	Bajada del Cerro s/n Mendoza Argentina
Owner	Government of Mendoza
Capacity	42,000 [1]
Field size	105 x 70 m
Surface	Grass
Current use	Football matches Rugby union matches
Construction
Built	1976–1978
Opened	May 14, 1978;46 years ago (1978-05-14)
Architect	Rafael Viñoly [2]
Tenants
Godoy Cruz Independiente Rivadavia Huracán Las Heras San Martín de Mendoza Argentina football team (1995–present) Argentina rugby team (2007–present)
Website
mendoza.gov.ar/estadio

Malvinas Argentinas Stadium (Spanish : Estadio Malvinas Argentinas) is a stadium in the city of Mendoza in the homonymous province of Argentina. With a seating capacity of 42,000 spectators, the stadium is the largest in Mendoza. Built for the 1978 FIFA World Cup, It is owned and administered by the Provincial Government. ^[2]

The venue is mostly used for association football matches, although it has hosted some rugby union games during The Rugby Championship, as well as music concerts. ^{[3] [2]} In Primera División matches, local club Godoy Cruz plays their home matches at Malvinas Argentinas in some occasions.

History

The stadium under construction in 1977

Promotional image of the stadium with the logo of the 1978 World Cup

Argentina was chosen as the host nation of the 1978 World Cup by FIFA in London, England on 6 July 1966. Mendoza, as one of the largest cities in the country, was selected as a venue. The organizing committee, under supervision of the military dictatorship that had ruled Argentina since 1976, proposed a new stadium to be built by the Cerro de la Gloria, in General San Martín Park, taking advantage of the topography of a natural depression located on the slopes of the hill. Beside the stadium itself, the project included new access roads, parking lots, a training auxiliar field and other complementary works.

The stadium was designed by Uruguayan Rafael Viñoly, ^[2] and its construction began in 1976. Originally named "Estadio Ciudad de Mendoza" ("City of Mendoza Stadium") it was opened on May 14, 1978 with a friendly match between a team formed by players from Mendoza and another one with players from San Rafael. ^[2] During June 1978, Mendoza hosted six Fifa World Cup matches, three first round matches and three second round matches. That same year Gimnasia y Esgrima de Mendoza became the first team from Mendoza to play a first division match at the stadium. Other teams from Mendoza that have reached the first division and used the Malvinas Argentinas as a home stadium since are Independiente Rivadavia, Huracán Las Heras, San Martín de Mendoza, and Godoy Cruz.

After the 1982 Falklands War, the stadium was renamed "Estadio Malvinas Argentinas". The new name reflects Argentina's disputed claims of sovereignty over the Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas in Spanish).

During the 1993–94 Primera División season Argentinos Juniors, original from Buenos Aires, played their home matches in Malvinas Argentinas stadium after an agreement signed with sports communications company Torneos y Competencias. TyC offered Argentinos Juniors (which had serious financial problems in those times) to hire several players loaning them to the club. In return, Argentinos had to move to Mendoza to play their home games so TyC considered there were more supporters in that Province than in Buenos Aires. Nevertheless, things do not work out as expected and the experience was unsuccessful with low attendances and money losses. ^{[4] [5]}

The stadium in 2012 during a Godoy Cruz v Newell's match

In 1994, Mendoza started hosting the annual Torneos de Verano (Summer Tournaments), hosting several editions of the competition. In 2011, Godoy Cruz qualified for the Copa Libertadores and the stadium hosted for the first time an international club competition. The Mendocenean club qualified to the most important continental tournament once again in 2012 and took part of the 2011 and 2014 Copa Sudamericana; Godoy Cruz has played all of its home matches for international competitions at the Malvinas Argentinas stadium. In the 2016–17 season, Godoy Cruz drew an average home league attendance of 16,000.

Renovation

The stadium was renovated for the 2011 Copa América held in Argentina. Among other works during the renovation all the seats were replaced, the bathrooms were reconstructed, the roof of the stadium was repaired and a new 128 m2 LED screen was installed, being during that time the largest of its kind in South America. ^[6]

Sporting events

The stadium was built for the 1978 FIFA World Cup and during June 1978 Mendoza it hosted six matches, three group 4 matches and three second round matches.

1978 FIFA World Cup

Date	Time (UTC-03)	Round	Group	Team #1	Res.	Team #2	Attendance
June 3	16:45	1	Group 4	Netherlands	3–0	Iran	33,431
June 7				Netherlands	0–0	Peru	28,125
June 11				Scotland	3–2	Netherlands	35,130
June 14	16:45	2	Group B	Peru	0–3	Brazil	31,278
June 18	13:45			Peru	0–1	Poland	35,288
June 21	16:45			Brazil	3–1	Poland	39,586

Apart from the 1978 FIFA World Cup, Malvinas Argentinas stadium has hosted several sporting events, being one of the venues for the 2001 FIFA World Youth Championship, the 2011 Copa América and the 2013 South American Youth Football Championship.

The Argentina national football team has played several friendly matches in Mendoza but only one official match: it was on 2012 against Uruguay for the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification. ^[7]

Local team Godoy Cruz used the Malvinas Argentinas as venue during their home matches in the 2011 and 2017 Copa Libertadores, ^[8] and 2011 Copa Sudamericana. ^[9] The stadium also hosted several Copa Argentina matches, and the 2017 Supercopa Argentina. ^{[10] [11]}

Rugby union

Estadio Malvinas Argentinas has hosted several rugby union games, most of them Argentina tests and some Cuyo RU team against touring sides.

On the other hand, the final and 3rd place match of the 2005 Under 21 Rugby World Championship were played at this stadium, while the rest of the tournament was held in smaller different stadiums of Mendoza province.

Date	Event	Home team	Score	Away team	Ref.
12 Jun 1985	1985 France tour	Cuyo RU	6–64	France	[12]
17 Oct 1987	1987 Australia tour	Cuyo RU	3–40	Australia	[13]
9 Jun 2007	2007 Italy tour	Argentina	24–6	Italy	[14]
25 Aug 2012	2012 Rugby Championship	Argentina	16–16	South Africa	[15]
24 Aug 2013	2013 Rugby Championship	Argentina	17–22	South Africa	[16]
4 Oct 2014	2014 Rugby Championship	Argentina	21–17	Australia	[17]
25 Jul 2015	2015 Rugby Championship	Argentina	9–34	Australia	[18]
10 Jun 2017	2017 England tour	Argentina	34–38	England	[19]
7 Oct 2017	2017 Rugby Championship	Argentina	20–37	Australia	[20]
25 Aug 2018	2018 Rugby Championship	Argentina	32–19	South Africa	[21]
13 Aug 2022	2022 Rugby Championship	Argentina	26–41	Australia	[22]
6 Jul 2024	2024 France tour	Argentina	–	France	[23] [24] [25]

Panoramic view of the stadium during a match between Argentina and South Africa rugby union teams, 2012

Concerts

The stadium played host to Amnesty International's Human Rights Now! Benefit Concert on October 14, 1988. The show was headlined by Sting and Peter Gabriel and also featured Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band, Tracy Chapman and Youssou N'Dour. ^[3]

Other artists that have played at the Malvinas Argentinas are Soda Stereo (1989), ^[26] Fito Páez (1989), ^[27] Luis Miguel (1999), ^[27] Charly García (2000), ^[28] Divididos (2003), ^[27] Ricky Martin (2007), ^[27] Joaquín Sabina with Joan Manuel Serrat (2007), ^[29] Chayanne (2007), ^[30] Maná (2011), ^[31] and Ricardo Arjona (2014), ^[32]

The main event of the 2012 Fiesta Nacional de la Vendimia was held at this stadium. ^[2]

See also

• List of association football stadiums by capacity
• List of football stadiums in Argentina
• Lists of stadiums

References

1. "Estadio Malvinas Argentinas : DEPORTES".
2. Estadio Malvinas Argentinas de Mendoza: cómo es y cuánta capacidad tiene, 3 Nov 2021 on Goal.com
3. Cuando tocaron en Mendoza los gigantes del rock by Federico Fayad on Los Andes, 14 Oct 2018
4. el año en que el Bicho fue local en Mendoza on Clarín, 3 Nov 2021
5. Argentinos en Mendoza: las pasiones no se mudan on Deportea, 28 May 2020, by Juan Pablo Manera
6. "Ministerio de Turismo de Mendoza". Archived from the original on 2015-07-16. Retrieved 2015-07-16.
7. FIFA.com
8. Debut en la tercera Copa Libertadores, 8 Mar 2017 on Godoy Cruz website
9. La Sudamericana nos llevó a Perú. 20 Oct 2011 on Godoy Cruz
10. Superclásico final 42 años después Archived 2017-12-11 at the Wayback Machine on Olé
11. Patricio Loustau será el árbitro de la Supercopa, AFA. 3 March 2018.
12. Memoria y Balance 1985 Archived 2022-12-31 at the Wayback Machine at UAR
13. Memoria y Balance 1987 Archived 2022-11-03 at the Wayback Machine at UAR
14. Memoria y Balance 2007 Archived 2022-11-02 at the Wayback Machine at UAR
15. Memoria y Balance 2012 Archived 2023-02-28 at the Wayback Machine at UAR
16. Memoria y Balance 2013 Archived 2022-11-03 at the Wayback Machine at UAR
17. Memoria y Balance 2014 Archived 2022-11-03 at the Wayback Machine at UAR
18. Memoria y Balance 2015 Archived 2022-09-25 at the Wayback Machine at UAR
19. Memoria y Balance 2017 ^{[ permanent dead link ]} at UAR
20. Memoria y Balance 2017 ^{[ permanent dead link ]} at UAR
21. Los Pumas 32 - Sudáfrica 19 on As, 25 Aug 2018
22. Los Pumas perdieron frente a Australia en su debut en el Rugby Championship on Télam, 6 Aug 2022
23. Los Pumas en Uno on Estudiantes LP, 11 Apr 2024
24. Los Pumas jugarán en el estadio de Estudiantes on 0223.com, 11 Apr 2024
25. Las sedes de las funciones en casa on UAR, 11 Apr 2024
26. Su gusto por la cordillera on Los Andes, 7 Sep 2014
27. Concerts at Estadio Malvinas Argentinas on Guestpectacular website
28. Rescate histórico: Charly García, en el Malvinas Argentinas, en el 2000 on MendoVoz
29. Sabina y Serrat añadieron un cuarto concierto en Buenos Aires on El Sol, 26 Oct 2007
30. Chayanne llega al país para presentar Mi tiempo at El Sol, 26 Sep 2007
31. Maná tocó en Mendoza para un público "apasionado" que se rindió a sus pies on Sitio Andino
32. Arjona llega mañana a la Argentina con 17 conciertos por todo el país, 8 Sep 2014 on Télam

External links

• Official website

Preceded by (various venues in Germany)	FIFA World Cup Venue 1978	Succeeded by (various venues in Spain)
Preceded by various venues in Nigeria	FIFA U-20 World Cup Venue 2001	Succeeded by various venues in United Arab Emirates
Preceded by (various venues in Venezuela)	Copa América Venue 2011	Succeeded by (various venues in Chile)
Preceded by various venues in Poland	FIFA U-20 World Cup Venue 2023	Succeeded by TBD

32°53′23″S68°52′48″W / 32.88972°S 68.88000°W / -32.88972; -68.88000