Estadio Ricardo Saprissa Aymá

Estadio Ricardo Saprissa Aymá
Location Catedral, San José, Costa Rica
Coordinates 9°57′56″N 84°04′32″W / 9.965427°N 84.075455°W / 9.965427; -84.075455Coordinates: 9°57′56″N 84°04′32″W / 9.965427°N 84.075455°W / 9.965427; -84.075455
Capacity 23,112
Field size 105 x 68 m
Surface Grass 1972 to 2003
Artificial turf 2004 to 2014
Grass 2015 to present
Opened August 27, 1972 (1972-08-27)
Tenants
Deportivo Saprissa
Costa Rica national football team

Estadio Ricardo Saprissa Aymá is a major sports stadium located in San Juan de Tibás, San José, Costa Rica. It has a seating capacity of 23,112 and it is second highest capacity stadium in the country.[1] The stadium is the home of Deportivo Saprissa, and was named in honour of the team's founder, Ricardo Saprissa. The stadium is nicknamed the "Monster's Cave", because the team's nickname is "The Monster".

History

Saprissa originally played at the Estadio Nacional de Costa Rica (Costa Rica National Stadium), a rented and shared facility. It was Costa Rica's first national stadium.

In 1955 Ricardo Saprissa sought out a permanent site which could serve the training ground and competition play location needs of Deportivo Saprissa. He had several qualities he wanted in the site: a location with easy access from the capital city of San Jose and from the provincial cities such as Alajuela, Cartago, and Heredia. On 3 August 1965 he bought a site in San Juan de Tibás for ₡363,398.90. On 12 October 1966, the initial construction program was a football pitch with stands. On 27 August 1972, following a six year construction and improvement program Estadio Ricardo Saprissa was officially opened. The first match was between Deportivo Saprissa and Comunicaciones of Guatemala. Peter Sandoval of Comunicaciones made the first goal at the stadium. The match ended in a 1-1 draw.

Fans of "La Ultra Morada" in La Cueva

In 2003, the long tropical rainy season at the stadium caused Saprissa to apply and be granted by FIFA, permission to change out the pitch from natural lawn to synthetic turf, the then-only stadium in Latin America to have this type of turf. The stadium has also been used for Costa Rica national football team matches. It is the second-largest football stadium in Costa Rica; Estadio Nacional de Costa Rica (the current National Stadium) has a seating capacity that outranks the Estadio Saprissa seating capacity of 23,112. The local mountains and downtown San José overlook Estadio Saprissa.

In 2005, the stadium became the world's first stadium to host a World Cup qualifying match on FieldTurf.

The team replaced the FieldTurf field with a new natural playing surface in 2015.

The stadium has hosted concerts including artists such as:

References

  1. ↑ "Stadiums in Costa Rica". Worldstadiums.com. Retrieved 9 November 2011.
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