Estadio José María Minella

The Estadio José María Minella is a stadium in the city of Mar del Plata, Argentina. It is owned and administrated by the Municipality of General Pueyrredón. Inaugurated for the 1978 FIFA World Cup hosted by Argentina, the stadium is currently used by local clubs Alvarado and Aldosivi to play their home matches.

The stadium is named after renowned football player and manager José María Minella, a native of Mar del Plata and regarded as one of the most notable footballers of that city.

History
Argentina was chosen as the host nation of the 1978 World Cup by FIFA in London, England on 6 July 1966, and Mar del Plata, as one of the most touristic cities in the country, was selected as a venue. The stadium has the distinction of being the southernmost stadium to host a World Cup match. The organizing committee, under supervision of the military dictatorship that ruled Argentina since 1976, decided to build a new stadium on the same spot where the Mar del Plata hippodrome had been located 40 years earlier. The construction began in 1975 and the stadium was opened on May 21, 1978 with a friendly match between a team formed by players from Mar del Plata and another one with players from Tandil.

The sports journalist Mario Trucco proposed the name to honour José María Minella, a renowned former midfielder from Mar del Plata, who played during the 1930s and 1940s for River Plate and the Argentina national football team, and later River Plate manager from 1945 to 1959 in what became one of the team's most successful eras.

During the 1978 World Cup Mar del Plata hosted six Fifa World Cup matches, three Group 1 and three Group 3 matches.

As the city of Mar del Plata is a very important tourist destination and the biggest seaside beach resort in Argentina, since its construction this stadium has been the main host of the many annual Summer Tournaments. Prior to the construction of Minella stadium, the main venue of the city had been General San Martín Stadium, with capacity for 15,000 spectators. That venue used to host matches of local teams San Lorenzo, Kimberley and Aldosivi.

In 1985 the stadium hosted the New Zealand rugby team that played at the stadium as part of their tour of Argentina. The national side beat Mar del Plata Rugby Union 56–6. The All Blacks would return in 1991, also playing vs the Mar del Plata Union, beating them 48–6.

On February 24, 1993, the stadium played host to the second, and final, Intercontinental Cup for Nations (known as the Artemio Franchi Trophy) between the then-defending South American football champions, Argentina, and reigning European champions, Denmark. The match ended 1–1 after extra time, but Argentina went on to win 5–4 on penalty shoot-out.

From March 12 to March 26, 1995 Mar del Plata hosted the 12th Pan American Games, and the José María Minella was venue for the opening and closing ceremonies, as well as the football tournament.

In 2015, local club Aldosivi was promoted to the Primera División and has since used this stadium for its home matches, along with Alvarado, currently playing in Torneo Federal A.

On September 24, 2021, a week before the return of the public to football stadiums after the COVID-19 pandemic, the Municipal Sports and Recreation Entity disabled the covered stalls (with a capacity for 6,500 seated people). The entity claimed structural flaws and ordered the closure of the sector until a detailed report on its situation was presented. As of 2023, the Estadio José Minella only hosts matches of local teams Aldosivi and Alvarado for competitions organised by AFA.

In February 2023, the Municipality of General Pueyrredón began to evaluate future possibilities for the stadium so it requested a report from the National University of Mar del Plata for a technical evaluation of the state of the roofed grandstand. But that commitment –which would be carried out by the best engineers in the city– had a cost of AR$13 million so it was discarded. Apart from the roof, the lighting towers and the parking lots were also severely deteriorated.

Facilities
The José María Minella offers parking lots for 250 cars, a 590 m2 lounge and 245 m2 VIP area, conference room and two 550 m2 gyms. It is part of the "Teodoro Bronzini" Municipal Sports Park, a 35 hectares area with several sport venues, including the Polideportivo Islas Malvinas, the Julio Polet Municipal Velodrome, the Pan American Field Hockey Stadium, the "Alberto Zorrilla" Natatorium, the "Justo Roman" Athletic stadium and the Patinódromo Municipal.

Sporting Events
The stadium was built for the 1978 FIFA World Cup and during June 1978 it hosted six matches, three Group 1 matches and three Group 3 matches.

2001 FIFA U-20 World Cup
The stadium hosted all the matches of Group F

Rugby union
The stadium has hosted several rugby union matches, such as follows: The stadium was also the main venue of the 2001 Rugby World Cup Sevens

Other sporting events hosted

 * Torneos de Verano (1979–2019)
 * 1995 Pan American Games
 * 1999 South American U-20 Championship
 * 2006 South American Women's Football Championship

Music concerts
Some of the artists that have played at this stadium are Almendra (1980), Charly García (1984), Queen (1981), Rod Stewart (1989), Soda Stereo (1992), Luis Miguel (1994), La Renga (2006), Duran Duran (2007), Callejeros (2010), Joaquín Sabina (2010) and Ricardo Arjona (2015).