La Bombonera

For other uses, see La Bombonera (disambiguation).
Alberto José Armando Stadium
Estadio Alberto José Armando
"La Bombonera"
Exterior view of the stadium in 2022
Map
Full nameAlberto José Armando Stadium[1]
Former namesBoca Juniors Stadium (1940–86)
Camilo Cichero Stadium (1986–2000)
LocationBrandsen 805 CP 1161, La Boca, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Coordinates34°38′8.34″S 58°21′52.74″W / 34.6356500°S 58.3646500°W / -34.6356500; -58.3646500
OwnerBoca Juniors
Capacity57,200[2]
Record attendance57,395[3]
Field size105 x 68 m
SurfaceGrass
Construction
Broke ground18 February 1938
Built1938–40
Opened25 May 1940; 84 years ago (1940-05-25)
Renovated1995–96
ArchitectJosé Luis Delpini, Viktor Sulčič, Raúl Bes
Tenants
Website
bocajuniors.com.ar/labombonera

La Bombonera (Spanish pronunciation: [la βomboˈneɾa]; English: The Chocolate Box), oficially named Alberto José Armando Stadium (Spanish: Estadio Alberto José Armando; Spanish pronunciation: [esˈtaðjo alˈβeɾto xoˈse aɾˈmando]) is an association football stadium located in Buenos Aires, Argentina.[4][5][6][7]

The stadium is owned by Boca Juniors, a football club based in the La Boca neighbourhood and one of Argentina's premier teams, which has over 18 million fans, the most in Argentina and around 40% of the country's total population.[8] The unusual shape of the stadium has led to it having excellent acoustics and the Boca support being nicknamed "La Doce".[5] The pitch at La Bombonera is 105m × 68m.

In 1986, the stadium was officially named for the first time as "Dr. Camilo Cichero," in honor of the club president who championed its construction. In 2000, it was renamed after Alberto José Armando, a two-time president of Boca Juniors. However, it is more commonly known as "La Bombonera" (The Chocolate Box), a name inspired by a personal anecdote from its architect, Viktor Sulčič, who likened the stadium's structure to that of a box of chocolates.[9]

The stadium is widely regarded as one of the most iconic stadiums in the world due to its design, club's history, iconic matches, intense atmosphere and tales of legendary players that stepped onto the pitch like Diego Maradona, Lionel Messi, Alfredo Di Stefano, Pelé, Ronaldo, Romario, Mario Kempes, Juan Román Riquelme, Gabriel Batistuta, Edinson Cavani and more.[10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][excessive citations] It has been declared of public interest by the government of Buenos Aires, the autonomous capital city.[20] The stadium is also used as a concert venue. Past performers at La Bombonera have included Lenny Kravitz, Elton John, James Blunt, the Bee Gees, and the Backstreet Boys.

  1. ^ "La Bombonera | El club". bocajuniors.com.ar (in Spanish). CA Boca Juniors. Retrieved 10 June 2018.
  2. ^ "El retoque en el aforo de La Bombonera que se estrenará en Boca-Platense". infobae (in European Spanish). 18 August 2023. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
  3. ^ "Estadio Alberto J. Armando (La Bombonera) – StadiumDB.com". stadiumdb.com. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
  4. ^ Ben Groundwater (20 September 2010). "Want to get to know a country? Head for the stadium". The Age. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 26 April 2013.
  5. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference midfielddynamo was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference independent2187963 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ "Some of the world's scariest places to play or watch football". BBC News. 9 November 2018. Retrieved 11 November 2018.
  8. ^ "Brazil's Flamengo has most fans in world | The World Game". Archived from the original on 2014-06-08.
  9. ^ "Tuvo el nombre de dos presidentes, pero la pasión la reconoce como la Bombonera". www.puntal.com.ar (in Spanish). 2020-05-25. Retrieved 2024-10-02.
  10. ^ 50 Sports Venues to Visit Before You Die, Bleacher Report, 26 Sep 2012
  11. ^ Boca v. River, un espectáculo internacional, La Nación 15 Apr 2004
  12. ^ «La Bombonera» inspira temor, Página/12
  13. ^ Un día en el fútbol argentino, Diario Marca
  14. ^ Marca y un día con la Doce
  15. ^ La mítica Bombonera, como nunca antes la habías visto
  16. ^ "España, rendida a los pies de La Bombonera". Archived from the original on 2018-03-04. Retrieved 2017-01-27.
  17. ^ "Así es La Bombonera, Liga BBVA". Archived from the original on 2015-04-02. Retrieved 2017-01-27.
  18. ^ "Estadio copero, una fortaleza". Archived from the original on 2018-03-04. Retrieved 2017-01-27.
  19. ^ Vuelta por la Boca Archived 2018-03-05 at the Wayback Machine, Olé, 26 Mar 2015
  20. ^ "La Bombonera" fue declarada de interés deportivo, turístico y cultural de la Ciudad, Parlamentario.com