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Estadio Bello Horizonte Rey Pelé
Macal
Former names	Estadio Horizonte (1977–1987); Estadio Manuel Calle Lombana (1987–2020); Estadio Bello Horizonte (2020–2023)
Location	Villavicencio, Colombia
Owner	Municipality of Villavicencio
Operator	IDERMETA; Meta Department Government
Capacity	15,000
Field size	105x65
Surface	Grass
Construction
Opened	1977
Renovated	2001, 2003, 2012, 2019–2022
Tenants
	Alianza Llanos (1991–1997); Unión Meta (2000); Centauros (2002–2011); Llaneros (2012–)

04°08′21″N 73°37′9″W / 4.13917°N 73.61917°W / 4.13917; -73.61917

Estadio Bello Horizonte Rey Pelé is a football stadium located in Villavicencio, Colombia.^[1] The stadium, built in 1970, has a capacity of 15,000 people and was named after Manuel Calle Lombana, mayor of Villavicencio in 1958,^[2] thus receiving the nickname of Macal. Categoría Primera B club Llaneros play their home matches at this stadium.

History

The history of the Bello Horizonte stadium dates back to 1945, when plans to enclose and build a stadium over the football field located in the Barzal neighborhood started being considered. By mid-May, Father Martín Preters and treasurer Manuel Calle Lombana, who later went on to become Mayor of Villavicencio, organized a fundraiser to carry out construction.^[3] The first stadium built at Barzal had wooden and cement stands, a half-laid football field and a fence, and although its original purpose was football, it also served as a public park.^[4] In 1959, the City Council approved the acquisition of a plot of land for a sports field and the construction of an olympic park, along with the sale of the football stadium, but Calle Lombana prevented the stadium's auction. By then, the stadium became known as "Macal".^[3]

The plot of land in which the first Macal stadium was located was eventually sold to the Instituto del Seguro Social in 1971, with the last game there being played on 12 October 1977, and the stadium was relocated to its current location, where the city's olympic park was eventually built.^[3] The new stadium, initially known as Estadio Horizonte, hosted the 1985 National Games of Colombia,^[5] and was officially renamed to Manuel Calle Lombana by a resolution by the Meta Department Assembly, issued five days after Calle Lombana's death in 1987.^[4]

The stadium has undergone several remodeling works, the first one of which being carried out in 2001 when the western grandstand was demolished and rebuilt.^[6] Two years later, due to Centauros Villavicencio's promotion to Categoría Primera A, renovation works were held in the eastern grandstand.^[7] In 2012, with the arrival of the city's new football club Llaneros, a further renovation of the stadium was carried out. Those works involved the replacement of the grass playing field for an artificial surface, the recovery and modernization of the lighting system as well as the adaptation of locker rooms and press booths.^[8] The stadium's artificial turf was in use until 2019, when it was lifted and replaced by grass. The 2019 remodeling works also included the installation of an athletic track around the field and a structural reinforcement.^[9]

In February 2020, the Governor of Meta Department Juan Guillermo Zuluaga announced the renaming of the stadium to Estadio Bello Horizonte.^[10] On 4 January 2023, Zuluaga announced a new renaming of the stadium, this time to Estadio Bello Horizonte Rey Pelé, following a suggestion by FIFA President Gianni Infantino to all countries to name one stadium in tribute to Brazilian footballer Pelé, in the aftermath of his death on 29 December 2022.^[11]^[12]

References

^ "Stadiums in Colombia". Worldstadiums.com. Archived from the original on 31 January 2010. Retrieved 21 January 2020.
^ "HOY, HOMENAJE A MANUEL CALLE LOMBANA" (in Spanish). El Tiempo. 3 October 2003. Retrieved 21 January 2020.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Para recordar a...Gilberto Gómez Reyes" [To remember...Gilberto Gómez Reyes]. Meta Deportes Colombia. 7 November 2010. Retrieved 11 June 2024.
^ ^a ^b "Quién era Manuel Calle Lombana, en cuyo nombre bautizaron el estadio que ahora llevará el nombre de Pelé" [Who was Manuel Calle Lombana, in whose name they named the stadium that will now be named after Pelé?]. Infobae. 5 January 2023. Retrieved 11 June 2024.
^ "El Llano abre sus puertas a Colombia" [The Llano opens its doors to Colombia]. Google News (in Spanish). p. 7. Retrieved 11 June 2024.
^ "Reconstruyen el estadio Macal" [The Macal stadium is rebuilt]. El Tiempo. 20 February 2001. Retrieved 11 June 2024.
^ "A cuidar el estadio Macal" [Let's take care of the Macal stadium]. El Tiempo. 22 August 2003. Retrieved 11 June 2024.
^ "Estadio Macal de Villavicencio tendrá grama sintética" [Villavicencio's Macal stadium will have synthetic turf] (in Spanish). El Tiempo. 11 May 2012. Archived from the original on 9 August 2014. Retrieved 11 June 2024.
^ "Inician obras de remodelación en el Estadio Manuel Calle Lombana" [Remodeling works begin at the Manuel Calle Lombana Stadium]. Vive el Meta. 29 August 2019. Retrieved 11 June 2024.
^ "Bello Horizonte, el nuevo nombre que llevaría el estadio Macal" [Bello Horizonte, the new name the Macal stadium would carry]. Vive el Meta. 11 February 2020. Retrieved 11 June 2024.
^ "Colombia tomó sugerencia de la FIFA: el homenaje a Pelé en un estadio" [Colombia took FIFA's suggestion: the tribute to Pelé in a stadium] (in Spanish). Futbolred. 5 January 2023. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
^ "Colombian stadium first in Latin America renamed after Pele". sportstar.thehindu.com. Sportstar. AFP. 6 January 2023. Retrieved 6 January 2023.