Estadio Luna Park (commonly known as Luna Park) is a multi-purpose arena in Buenos Aires. Located at the corner of Avenida Corrientes and Avenida Bouchard; in the San Nicolás neighborhood. Initially, the arena primarily hosted boxing and other sporting events. In the 1950s, it was expanded to host stage shows and concerts.
At the beginning of the twentieth century, Buenos Aires was inhabited by thousands of immigrants from Europe. Additionally, there was an abundance of tourists from throughout the Americas. In 1910, Italian merchant Domingo Pace built Luna Park, an open street fair in the heart of the city. By the 1920s, the amusement park became the playground of the aristocrats and wealthy in Argentina. With the change of scenery, the park began to decline and by 1929, many of the rides were abandoned.
In 1931, Ismael Pace (son of Domingo) and boxing legend Jose Pepe Lectoure purchased land from the city.[12] With the decline of Luna Park, Pace envisioned creating a sports arena in the likes of Madison Square Garden and the Berlin Sportpalast. Before opening in 1932, the arena went through three names: "Estadio de Corrientes y Bouchard", "Catedral del Boxeo", then "Palacio de los Deportes", before settling on "Estadio Luna Park" (in remembrance of the now torn down amusement park).
The arena opened in February 1932 as an open-air venue and carnival. Early on, the arena hosted a boxing match every Saturday, with the first match being held on 5 March 1932. At this time, the arena could sit 22,000 spectators. During the off season, the arena ran rampant with the homeless, causing the venue to become an enclosed space in 1934. During the Second World War, the arena became the site of many Nazi and Fascist rallies. In 1944, during a charity event to benefit the victims of an earthquake in San Juan, Eva Duarte and Juan Perón met for the first time.
In the 1950s, the arena began to decline. Lectoure and Pace were pressured by the city to seek better revenue. In 1951, renovations began for the arena in the style of Art Deco, substantially, the capacity of the arena was reduced. Before construction ended, Pace and Lectoure died. Ownership of the venue was given to Lectoure's son, Juan Carlos Lectoure. Known as Tito, he converted the arena into the site for concerts and it became a major venue for the Argentine rock scene.[13]
In 2007, the arena was declared a National Historic Monument.[14] After the death of Tito Lectoure's aunt, Ernestina Devecchi de Lectoure (in 2013), ownership of the arena was transferred to the Argentine branches of Salesians of Don Bosco and Caritas Internationalis,[1] according to what she previously stated in her will.[15] The Salesians Society and Caritas own a 50% each of the arena.[2]
^Herrera, Sebastián (15 February 2011). "Luna Park: el Palacio de los Deportes" [Luna Park: the Palacio de los Deportes]. Eterna Buenos Aires. Archived from the original on 11 September 2016. Retrieved April 26, 2015.
