Notable Events
When the Monumental project was originally designed, it consisted of four stands. As the bank loan was not enough to carry out the entire project, the stadium was left with a horseshoe shape. The horseshoe was fully enclosed in 1958, under the club presidency of Enrique Pardo. The new construction, the Colonia stand, was financed by proceeds from the 10M pesos transfer of Omar Sivori to Juventus of Italy. With the new construction the stadium's capacity reached 30,000.
The stadium was remodelled after Argentina was awarded the right to host the 1978 World Cup. River Plate was lent money by the Military Government in charge of the country at the time but they struggled to meet repayments due to the changes of currency, which had a detrimental effect on the team. Monumental was the headquarters for the 1978 World Cup. The venue was opened on June 1 for the match between West Germany and Poland. They hosted seven more games, including the finals between Argentina and the Netherlands.
San Lorenzo earned the record for highest number of persons attending a match in 1982. In their second division match against Tigre, San Lorenzo (which did not have a stadium at the time), brought more than 70,000 people to River's stadium. When River played Racing for the title (after 18 years) 100,000 were present. At the end of the 1986 and 1996 Copa Libertadores second-leg finals (both against América de Cali), more seats were added and approximately 85,000 spectators were in attendance. It is estimated that for the Argentina versus Uruguay 1987 Copa América semifinal more than 87,000 spectators attended.
The total length of the seating in the stands of the stadium is over 70 kilometers.
Read more about this topic: Estadio Monumental Antonio Vespucio Liberti
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