Estadio El Campín

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Estadio Nemesio Camacho
El Campín

Location	Bogotá, Colombia
Opened	14 August 1938
Owner	IDRD
Surface	Grass
Tenants	Millonarios Independiente Santa Fe (Colombian Professional Football)
Capacity	48,600

Nemesio Camacho "El Campín" Stadium is the main stadium of Bogotá, Colombia. It is the home ground of the Independiente Santa Fe and Millonarios association football teams; it is also the home ground of the Colombia national football team, together with Barranquilla's Estadio Metropolitano. The stadium is named after Nemesio Camacho, former manager of the then-existing streetcar system of Bogotá and also the father of Luis Camacho, the person who offered the land where the stadium would be constructed. The name Campín comes from a modification of the word "camping" because the area where the stadium currently stands was formerly a camping zone. It entered service as a football stadium around 1946, just in time to host the first national club tournament. Its actual capacity is of 48.600 seated spectators. It was used as the final venue for Copa América 2001, where the Colombian Team were crowned champions of South America.

[edit] History

Jorge Eliécer Gaitán, then mayor of Bogotá, in 1934 had the idea to build a stadium for the joy of Bogotá's townspeople, taking advantage of the occasion provided by Bogotá's 400th anniversary, and also to host the Bolivarian Games of 1938; up to that moment the only major football ground in the city was "La Merced" ground, a relatively small one. Shortly after, then councilman Luis Camacho offered a land to the city of Bogotá where the new stadium could be constructed.

At the time of the first Colombian Professional Football championship (1948), the stadium's capacity was of 23.500 seated persons. The stadium has been remodelled many times, and although the stadium's maximum capacity was of 62.500 at 1968, the capacity has been decreased along time through many other remodelations.

The first game hosted in this ground was a soccer match between Ecuador and Colombia, in August 10th, 1938, where Colombia was defeated with a score of 2-1. Millonarios has played in "El Campín" as their home ground since 1938, Santa Fe since 1951. El Campín has been used several times to host matches of the Colombian football team, most notably the Copa América 2001 final against Mexico. This stadium is one of the many football grounds that could be affected by FIFA's decision to forbid playing international football in places located above 2500 meters above sea level, but due to requests to change this decision, FIFA has allowed international FIFA games in this stadium.