Estadio Ciudad de La Plata

The Estadio Ciudad de La Plata or Estadio Único as it is commonly known, is a multi-purpose sports arena located in La Plata, Argentina. Built through a combination of private and public enterprises, it is a stadium with the capacity of 53,000.

It was first opened on 7 June 2003, and is currently the home ground of Club Estudiantes de La Plata and occasionally Club de Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata. It is the first polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE, commonly known as ‘Teflon’) covered stadium in South America and the first designed to use a fabric with a 24 % translucency.

History

In 1947, a sports complex was built on the plot acquired in La Plata. In the mid 1970s, the city considered building a stadium for the 1978 FIFA World Cup, but plans were cancelled soon after.

The project was picked up again in the late 1980s, and the construction of the new stadium finally started in 1998. However, an economic crisis hit Argentina and building works were forced to a standstill due to funding problems.

Works got resumed again in 2003 and the stadium was officially opened on 7 June, 2003. A more alluring tie was held shortly after between Argentina and Uruguay on 16 July, with 40,000 fans enjoying a well-contested 2-2 draw.

Works on the roof were restarted in 2010 and ended with the stands being covered in 2011 and the stadium was officially reopened on February 17, 2011.

Major Matches

After being officially reopened in 2011, its first match was played six days later between Estudiantes and Deportes Tolima of the 2011 Copa Libertadores.

The stadium was also the host for the 2011 Copa América in Argentina.