Estadio Arquitecto Ricardo Etcheverri

Architect Ricardo Etcheverri Stadium

Estadio Arquitecto Ricardo Etcheverri
Estadio Ferro Carril Oeste
The stadium pictured in 2010
Full name	Estadio Arquitecto Ricardo Etcheverri
Former names	Estadio Ferro Carril Oeste
Address	Avellaneda 1240
Location	Caballito, Buenos Aires Argentina
Public transit	Sarmiento Line at Caballito railway station at Puan (0.9 km away)
Genre(s)	Sporting events Concerts
Capacity	24,442
Surface	Grass
Opened	2 January 1905; 119 years ago (1905-01-02)
Tenants
List Football: Ferro Carril Oeste (1905–present) Argentinos Juniors (1983–2003) Rugby: Argentina national rugby team (1932, 1970–2001) C.A. San Isidro (1932) [n 1] Universitario (BA) (1932) [n 1] San Isidro Club (1972–81) [n 1] URBA provincial team (1972–1994) [n 1]
Website
ferrocarriloeste.org.ar/estadio

Estadio Arquitecto Ricardo Etcheverri, formerly known as Estadio Ferro Carril Oeste, is a football stadium located in the Caballito district of Buenos Aires. It is owned and operated by club Ferro Carril Oeste. The stadium, opened in 1905 and located close to Caballito station of Sarmiento Line,^[4] has a current capacity of 24,442.^[5]

Inaugurated on 2 January 1905,^[6][7] Ferro Carril Oeste is the oldest football stadium of Argentina (referring to clubs affiliated to AFA)^[8][9] and the second in South America after Estadio Gran Parque Central (home venue of Uruguayan Club Nacional de Football, built in 1900).

Because of being located near the geographic centre of Buenos Aires, several former clubs used it as their home venues. Some of them were Alumni, Barracas A.C., San Lorenzo, Argentinos Juniors, among others.

The stadium also hosted test matches played by the Argentina national rugby union team (Los Pumas) first in 1932^[1] and then during the 1970s to early 2000s, where Argentina played Ireland, New Zealand, France and Australia, among others. In Ferro Carril Oeste, Argentina achieved notable wins over Australia (1979) and France (1985), and a celebrated 21–21 tie vs the All Blacks in 1985.^[10][11] Other local teams such as the URBA team or San Isidro Club played matches at Ferro Carril Oeste in the 1980s.^[2]

History

The stadium was built on a land granted by the manager of Buenos Aires Western Railway in 1905. That same year the first wooden grandstand was built. The first official match was played here on 21 April 1907, when Ferro C. Oeste and River Plate tied 2–2. In 1906, the first official grandstand (with roof) was built. Due to being linked with the Western Railway company, the club hosted several sports activities in 1907 to celebrate the 50th. anniversary of first railway line in Argentina.^[12]

The stadium during a football match, c. 1940. The grandstand at background had been acquired to Club Boca Juniors some years earlier

The first notable event hosted by the stadium was the 1907 Tie Cup Final where Alumni defeated Uruguayan side CURCC 3–1. As Alumni did not have own venue, the team played its home matches at Ferro C. Oeste between 1907 and 1909. In 1914, Ferro hosted a Tie Cup final again, when River Plate beat Bristol and won their first international title. Although Ferro C. Oeste played in the Second Division, its stadium was a frequent venue for several Primera División matches by other teams.

When the Flores Athletic Club disbanded in 1907, Ferro Carril Oeste acquired some of its facilities such as tennis and paleta courts. In September 1931, the official grandstand was completely destroyed by fire, but was rebuilt. During the 1930s, the club got materials in change for football players. Some transfers made that way were Federici to Huracán and Arcadio López to Boca Juniors. In this case, the club received a whole wooden grandstand that had been part of the old Boca Juniors stadium. Two years later, Boca Juniors opened La Bombonera, made of concrete. The wooden grandstand was located on Martín de Gainza street.^[12]

The Ferro Carril Oeste stadium hosted international rugby matches for the first time in 1932, when the Junior Springboks toured on Argentina playing several games there including two test-matches v the Argentina national team.^[13][14]

Sports events at Ferro Carril Oeste, (left): midget car racing in 1952; (right): rugby union, Ireland national team posing in 1970

From the 1940s to the 1960s, Ferro Carril Oeste hosted several racing events that include midget car and motorcycle races. Those events were scheduled on Saturdays so football matches were on Sundays, taking place on the racetrack surrounding the football pitch.^[15]

In 1951 Ferro Carril Oeste was one of the venues (along with Gimnasia y Esgrima) to host the South American Rugby Championship in Buenos Aires. In 1970, the club built a gymnasium under the official grandstand, which was inaugurated in 1972.^[12]

Apart from football games, Ferro C.O. would be the home venue for Los Pumas matches until 1985, when New Zealand toured in the country. The last test played by Argentina at the stadium was the historic 21–21 v the All Blacks in November,^[16] when captain Hugo Porta scored all the points for Argentina. He would be named "the best fly-half of the world" at the end of that year.^[17]

During the 1990s, the stadium returned to host rugby matches of Los Pumas, along with José Amalfitani Stadium. The last test played by the national team at Ferro was in 2001, when Argentina defeated Italy.^[18]

Concerts

The stadium in 1980

Since the 1980s the Estadio Ferro Carril Oeste has hosted a large amount of artists performing there, mostly rock bands.

Local rockstar Charly García gave his first concert as soloist there in 1982, with an attendance of 25,000 people.^[19][20]

The first international artist to have performed at Ferro was British band The Cure in 1987, in a chaotic concert that finished in a riot where hooligans and policemen fight inside and outside the stadium.^[21] During the following years, several artists performed in the stadium, having hosted three editions of the Monsters of Rock metal festival, in 1995, 1997 and 2005.

Some of the most notable local bands performing at Ferro were Riff, Rata Blanca, Soda Stereo and Los Fabulosos Cadillacs.

Concerts hosted at Estadio Ferro Carril Oeste
Artist	Date	Tour/Concert	Ref.
Charly García	Dec 1982	Yendo de la Cama al Living	[19][20]
Riff	Dec 1983, Dec 1997	Sin Cadenas, Monsters of Rock	[22][23]
Los Violadores	Dec 1983	Sin Cadenas	[22]
The Cure	Mar 1987	Kissing tour	[21]
Iron Maiden	July 1992, 2008	Fear of the Dark Tour and Somewhere Back in Time World Tour	[24]
Pantera	Abr 1995		[25]
Roxette	Abr 1995	Crash! Boom! Bang! Tour	[26]
Faith No More	Sep 1995	Monsters of Rock	[27]
Ozzy Osbourne	Sep 1995	Monsters of Rock	[27]
Alice Cooper	Sep 1995	Monsters of Rock	[27]
Paradise Lost	Sep 1995	Monsters of Rock	[27]
Therapy?	Sep 1995	Monsters of Rock	[27]
Clawfinger	Sep 1995	Monsters of Rock	[27]
Rata Blanca	Sep 1995, Oct 2004, Sep 2005	Monsters of Rock	[27][28]
Jimmy Page & Robert Plant	Jan 1996	No Quarter	[29]
The Black Crowes	Jan 1996	No Quarter	[29]
Soda Stereo	Nov 1996	Alternative Festival	[30][31]
Marilyn Manson	Nov 1996	Alternative Festival	[30]
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds	Nov 1996	Alternative Festival	[30]
Porno for Pyros	Nov 1996	Alternative Festival	[30]
Cypress Hill	Nov 1996	Alternative Festival	[30]
Los Fabulosos Cadillacs	Nov 1996	Alternative Festival	[30]
Spacehog	Nov 1996	Alternative Festival	[30]
Silverchair	Nov 1996	Alternative Festival	[30]
Tracy Bonham	Nov 1996	Alternative Festival	[30]
David Bowie	Nov 1997	Earthling Tour	[32]
Bush	Nov 1997		[32]
No Doubt	Nov 1997	Tragic Kingdom World Tour	[32]
Molotov	Nov 1997	Despedazado Tour	[32]
Café Tacuba	Nov 1997		[32]
Whitesnake	Dec 1997, Sep 2005	Monsters of Rock	[23]
Megadeth	Dec 1997	Monsters of Rock	[23]
Queensrÿche	Dec 1997	Monsters of Rock	[23]
The Offspring	Oct 2004	Quilmes Rock	[28]
Judas Priest	Sep 2005	Monsters of Rock	[33]
Lorihen	Sep 2005	Monsters of Rock	[33]
Pearl Jam	Nov 2005		[34]
Mudhoney	Nov 2005		[34]
My Chemical Romance	Feb 2008	The Black Parade	[35]
Jamiroquai	Feb 2013		[36]
Jonas Brothers	Mar 2013	World Tour 2012–13	[37]
Guns N' Roses	Abr 2014	Appetite for Democracy	[38]

Notes

1. Only used the venue during their matches v foreign national teams that were touring Argentina.^[1][2][3]

References

1. Historia on UAR
2. Memoria y Balance 1972 at UAR
3. Memoria y Balance 1994 at UAR
4. "El Estadio". Infraestructura (in Spanish). Club Ferro Carril Oeste. Archived from the original on 18 May 2012. Retrieved 25 December 2012.
5. "ESTADIO ARQUITECTO RICARDO ETCHEVERRI". Soccerway: Club Ferro Carril Oeste. Perform. Retrieved 13 February 2016.
6. ¿Dónde está el estadio de fútbol más antiguo de Argentina? on Billiken, 27 Apr 2024
7. Estadio on Ferro C. Oeste website
8. Chau tablón, Clarín, 23 July 2005
9. Estadios argentinos by Carlos Aira on Xenen, 19 June 2016
10. "El historial de los Pumas contra los grandes: los All Blacks, el único al que no le pudieron ganar" Archived 6 February 2016 at the Wayback Machine, Cancha Llena, 8 August 2015
11. "El historial de Los Pumas ante Australia, la tercera potencia", Infobae, 18 October 2015
12. Viejos estadios: Ferro Carril Oeste
13. Memoria y Balance 1970 Archived 20 December 2022 at the Wayback Machine on UAR
14. Recuerdos de una leyenda viva on La Nación, 13 Oct 2007 (archived, 4 Nov 2021)
15. Carreras de autos Midget en Ferro by Carlos Araujo on Ser Argentino
16. Cuando Los Pumas estuvieron al borde de la hazaña by Patricio Connelly on ESPN, 2012
17. A mano con los All Blacks, La Nación, 16 Sep 2003
18. Memoria y Balance 2001
19. "No bombardeen Buenos Aires": el recuerdo del histórico recital de Charly García en el estadio de Ferro en 1982
20. El día que García bombardeó Buenos Aires, Clarín
21. Por qué The Cure rompió su promesa y vuelve después de 26 años, La Nación/Rolling Stone
22. Biografía de Riff, Rock.com.ar
23. Los monstruos invadieron Buenos Aires, Clarín
24. Iron Maiden deleitó a 25 mil personas
25. Tour history on Pantera website
26. LLega Roxette a la Argentina
27. Monstruos en cuero, La Nación, 1995
28. El día que Ferro fue hogar de todas las tribus heavies, Pagina/12, Oct 2004
29. Elogio de la tercera edad, Página/12, 12 Jan 2014
30. Rock & Pop alternativo en dos días, La Nación
31. Cómo fueron los últimos años de Soda Stereo antes de la separación, Rolling Stone, 1 May 2017
32. Viene David Bowie, Clarín, 27 Sep 1997
33. Y desbordó Ferro, Clarín, Sep 2005
34. Un buen primer paso de Pearl Jam, La Nueva, 28 November 2005
35. My Chemical Romance en Argentina, Perfil, 2008
36. Jamiroquai hizo vibrar Ferro, Infobae
37. Jonas Brothers en Ferro, Ciudad.com
38. Guns N Roses tocó en Ferro con un Axl Rose irreconocible, Ciudad.com

External links

• Official website
• Photos at worldstadiums.com^{[permanent dead link‍]}
• Aerial photo at Google Earth

Preceded by (none)

South American Rugby Championship 1951

Succeeded by (various)

34.6185°S 58.4476°W / -34.6185; -58.4476