Estadio Gran Parque Central
Encyclopedia
The Estadio Gran Parque Central, usually just Parque Central, is the stadium of Club Nacional de Football
. It is located in Montevideo
, Uruguay
, near Nacional headquarters (exactly between the streets Carlos Anaya, Jaime Cibils, General Urquiza and Comandante Braga), in the La Blanqueada
neighbourhood. In this stadium, Nacional plays its home games.
This stadium was one of the venues of the 1930 FIFA World Cup
, and it is the grounds in which the first match in the history of the FIFA World Cup
was played (when in group D the United States defeated Belgium 3-0 on July 13, 1930). This historical fact was remembered by FIFA on two occasions: 1987 and 2005. At the same time, another match was played at the now defunct Estadio Pocitos
.
The stadium has four main stands: Tribuna José María Delgado (North), Tribuna Atilio García (South), Talud Abdón Porte (West), Talud Héctor Scarone (East), named after famous Nacional players (like Atilio García
, Abdón Porte
and Héctor Scarone
) and a chairman of the club (José María Delgado
).
Before the existence of Parque Central as a sports ground, in exactly the same location (which used to be known as "Quinta de la Paraguaya"), Uruguay's national hero José Artigas was named Jefe de los Orientales (leader of the Uruguayan people) in 1811.
.
Many parts of the stadium remain unchanged since 1900, like the old "Mirador" located behind the Tribuna Atilio García stand, although the current pitch is different from the one of the beginning of the past century. The current orientation is east-west,opposite to the first one that was north-south,and there was another field in the actual place of the east stands and eastern part of the pitch.
Until 1930, the Parque Central was the main sports venue in Uruguay. It was only with the building of the Estadio Centenario
that Nacional's stadium was superseded.
, the stadium hosted 6 group matches:
Group D match
Group B match
Group A match
Group A match
Group B match
Group D match
Thirty years later, the Parque Central was remodelled once again due to a fire that destroyed part of the stadium.
Club Nacional de Football
Club Nacional de Football is a Uruguayan sports club based in Montevideo. It is best known for its professional football team, which plays in the Uruguayan Primera División....
. It is located in Montevideo
Montevideo
Montevideo is the largest city, the capital, and the chief port of Uruguay. The settlement was established in 1726 by Bruno Mauricio de Zabala, as a strategic move amidst a Spanish-Portuguese dispute over the platine region, and as a counter to the Portuguese colony at Colonia del Sacramento...
, Uruguay
Uruguay
Uruguay ,officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay,sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; ) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to some 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area...
, near Nacional headquarters (exactly between the streets Carlos Anaya, Jaime Cibils, General Urquiza and Comandante Braga), in the La Blanqueada
La Blanqueada
La Blanqueada is a barrio of Montevideo, Uruguay. It borders Tres Cruces to the west, Larrañaga to the northwest, Unión to the northeast and Parque Batlle to the south. It is home to the Military Hospital....
neighbourhood. In this stadium, Nacional plays its home games.
This stadium was one of the venues of the 1930 FIFA World Cup
1930 FIFA World Cup
The 1930 FIFA World Cup was the inaugural FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national association football teams. It took place in Uruguay from 13 July to 30 July 1930...
, and it is the grounds in which the first match in the history of the FIFA World Cup
FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often simply the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association , the sport's global governing body...
was played (when in group D the United States defeated Belgium 3-0 on July 13, 1930). This historical fact was remembered by FIFA on two occasions: 1987 and 2005. At the same time, another match was played at the now defunct Estadio Pocitos
Estadio Pocitos
Estadio Pocitos was a multi-use stadium in Montevideo, Uruguay, that does not exist today. This stadium was mainly used for football matches of the owner club Peñarol from 1921 to 1933...
.
The stadium has four main stands: Tribuna José María Delgado (North), Tribuna Atilio García (South), Talud Abdón Porte (West), Talud Héctor Scarone (East), named after famous Nacional players (like Atilio García
Atilio García
Atilio Ceferino García was an Argentine-Uruguayan football striker who is the second highest goalscorer in the history of Uruguayan football...
, Abdón Porte
Abdón Porte
-Club career:Porte played for Colón from 1910. He moved to Libertad in 1911 before transferring to Nacional in the same year.Playing for Nacional Porte won four league titles...
and Héctor Scarone
Héctor Scarone
Héctor Pedro Scarone Beretta was a Uruguayan football striker. He went on for many years Since 1930 to holds the record as the all-time leading scorer with 31 goals in 52 games between 1917 and 1930 for the Uruguayan national team...
) and a chairman of the club (José María Delgado
Jose Maria Delgado
Dr. Jose Maria Delgado was the first Philippine Ambassador to the Vatican. He was the cousin of Francisco Afan Delgado, descendant of General Martin Delgado.-Early life:...
).
History
The Estadio Gran Parque Central is one of the most important landmarks in the history of Uruguay, not only because of its relevance in sports, but also for its bonds with the rich history of Uruguayans and their national, patriotic feelings.Before the existence of Parque Central as a sports ground, in exactly the same location (which used to be known as "Quinta de la Paraguaya"), Uruguay's national hero José Artigas was named Jefe de los Orientales (leader of the Uruguayan people) in 1811.
The beginnings
The Parque Central was opened for the practice of sports in 1900, having been the site of Montevideo's bullring until the abolition of this activity.At first,the tenants of the stadium were Deutscher Fussball Klub for their home games at the first Uruguayan league championship in 1900.For 1901,Club Nacional de Football also started to play at the second field as they entered the AUF league.From that year until now, the Estadio Gran Parque Central has witnessed several championships won by Nacional (the last one in 2010/2011 season) and Uruguay national football teamUruguay national football team
The Uruguayan national football team represents Uruguay in international association football and is controlled by the Uruguayan Football Association, the governing body for football in Uruguay. The current head coach is Óscar Tabárez...
.
Many parts of the stadium remain unchanged since 1900, like the old "Mirador" located behind the Tribuna Atilio García stand, although the current pitch is different from the one of the beginning of the past century. The current orientation is east-west,opposite to the first one that was north-south,and there was another field in the actual place of the east stands and eastern part of the pitch.
Until 1930, the Parque Central was the main sports venue in Uruguay. It was only with the building of the Estadio Centenario
Estadio Centenario
Estadio Centenario is a stadium in Parque Batlle, Montevideo, Uruguay, used primarily for football. The stadium was built between 1929 and 1930 to host the 1930 FIFA World Cup, as well as to commemorate the centennial of Uruguay's first constitution...
that Nacional's stadium was superseded.
The 1930 FIFA World Cup
During the 1930 FIFA World Cup1930 FIFA World Cup
The 1930 FIFA World Cup was the inaugural FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national association football teams. It took place in Uruguay from 13 July to 30 July 1930...
, the stadium hosted 6 group matches:
Group D match
Group B match
Group A match
Group A match
Group B match
Group D match
Remodellings
Burnt almost complete after the fire of 1911,it was rebuilt a couple of years later.The second remodelling of the Estadio Gran Parque Central took place in 1944. On that occasion, improvements of the pitch and the four stands were made, and more seats were added in the main stand, Tribuna José María Delgado.Thirty years later, the Parque Central was remodelled once again due to a fire that destroyed part of the stadium.