| Estadio Juan Ramón Loubriel | |
|---|---|
| La Meca, JRL, La Islandera | |
| Location | Route 2, intersection with Route 5, Bayamón, Puerto Rico |
| Built | 1973 |
| Opened | 1974 |
| Renovated | 2003 |
| Owner | Municipality of Bayamón |
| Surface | Grass (natural) |
| Capacity |
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| Field dimensions |
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| Tenants | |
| Puerto Rico Islanders (2004-present) Bayamon FC (2009-Present) Puerto Rico national football team Cangrejeros de Santurce (late 80s) Vaqueros de Bayamon (?-2002-03) Sevilla Bayamón FC (2008-2009) |
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The Juan Ramón Loubriel Stadium (Estadio Juan Ramón Loubriel) is a 12,500 seat stadium at Route 2 and Route 5, in Bayamón, Puerto Rico. The stadium has easy access with one metro station (known as "Deportivo Station") on premises.
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Built in 1974 and originally used for baseball, it was home to the "Vaqueros de Bayamón" up until 2003 when the team became defunct.
In 2003 with the Vaqueros folding the stadium seemed doomed to be relegated to a youth stadium or demolition, but late that same year the stadium was reborn and was to be home for another professional club. However, this time it would be as an association football stadium. It had been chosen by the Puerto Rico Islanders as their new home. Its "L" shaped stands were not suited for the sport and it originally had an awkward feel to it since the stand behind the goal angles away from the pitch. This has led most of the fans to prefer to sit in the part of the stands that run parallel to the pitch.
Its also home to Bayamon FC, a professional football team in the Puerto Rico Soccer League. It used to be home Sevilla Bayamon FC, now called Sevilla-FC Juncos, after they moved to Juncos.
It has also played host to the CFU Club Championship Group C in 2006, where the Islanders played but lost to Trinidad and Tobago, W Connection 0-1 and the Puerto Rico MLS-USL Challenge in 2007, and two 2010 World Cup qualifying matches against the Dominican Republic and Honduras.
Over the 4 years that it has hosted the sport it has created an atmosphere that is unique to the stadium and the Islanders.
It has played host to the resurgence of association football in Puerto Rico and has been given the nickname "La Meca" because it has been a key player in the sport's rise to popularity in the island.[1] It is also called "JRL" by fans as an abbreviation of its official name. Another name that has been used for the stadium is "La Islandera" since it's the home of the Islanders.[2]
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