Estadio Ricardo Saprissa Aymá

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Estadio Ricardo Saprissa.
Estadio Ricardo Saprissa.

Estadio Ricardo Saprissa Aymá is one of the main stadiums in Costa Rica. It is located in San Juan de Tibás, San José. With a capacity of 24,000, it is the highest capacity stadium in the country. The stadium is the home of Deportivo Saprissa, and was named in honour of the team's founder, Ricardo Saprissa.

[edit] History

Deportivo Saprissa originally played at the Costa Rica National Stadium, which they were forced to rent and share. And so in the late 1950s and early 1960s, they began to look for somewhere to build their own stadium.

On 3 August, 1965, Saprissa bought a coffee plantation in San Juan de Tibás for 363,398.90 colones, and on 12 October 1966, Ricardo Saprissa laid the first stone. Construction began on what would become his namesake stadium. Six years later, on 27 August, 1972, the stadium was opened with the unveiling of a plaque with its official name, and the first game was played, between Saprissa and Comunicaciones of Guatemala. The game would end in a 1-1 draw, with Peter Sandoval of Comunicaciones scoring the first goal at the new stadium.

In 2005, Saprissa Stadium became the first stadium to host a World Cup qualifying match on FieldTurf.

The Saprissa stadium has also staged concerts including artists such as:

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