Estadio George Capwell is a multi-purpose stadium in Guayaquil, Ecuador. It is currently used mostly for football matches and is the home stadium of Emelec.
Founder George Lewis Capwell:- George Lewis Capwell was born in the United States, he traveled to Ecuador to supervise his electric company “Empresa Electrica del Ecuador” better known in English Ecuadorian Electric Company. While supervising the company Mr.Capwell saw that his workers were interested in soccer, therefore he decided to create a soccer team with the company’s name to it. Making C.S. EMELEC. The colleagues funded the soccer club in April 28th 1929, Emelec was inscribed to the Serie C or C league in Ecuador in 1929. In 1940 a stadium was built to honor him.
The stadium and its beginning’s:-The stadium George Capwell is located to the north of San Martin street, to the south of General Gomez, to the west of Quito street and to the east of Juan Bio Montufar street. It was baptized with the name George Capwell in honor if the soccer club’s president and because he also motorized the construction of the stadium and because he was the founder of the soccer club. George’s idea was for the site not to be a soccer field but a baseball diamond. When popularity grew with soccer in the company and in Guayaquil, in little no time baseball field was converted into a soccer stadium in which it looks now.
The process of constructing the stadium started September of 1940 when the council of Guayaquil approved the loaning of 4 square street blocks for the construction of Emelec’s new stadium. Later September 8th of 1942 the municipal donated the square blocks instead of having them loaned. Later the 15th of October 1942 the Ecuadorian Republic approved the city blocks for the stadiums construction. June 24th 1943 the first stone was placed. The construction was a realized concept and the George Capwell Stadium was inaugurated with a baseball game between Emelec and Oriente, October 21st 1945 with 11,000 fans in attendance. None the less the doors opened to soccer on December 2nd 1945 to inaugurate it as a soccer field, a match was held between Emelec and Manta-Bahia ; Emelec won 5-4 The Ecuadorian local tournament was won by Emelec because they had won their local title for the first time. A year later, November 30th 1947 the stadium opened it door to international soccer when Guayaquil, Ecuador hosted the Copa America, Estadio Capwell was the stadium host. Once El Estadio Modelo opened its doors in 1959, Estadio Capwell lost its shine and began to deteriorate and was not maintained…