The Argentinian province of Tucumán has presented plans to develop a new stadium with a capacity of up to 50,000, as it eyes a place in the South American effort to land hosting rights to the 2030 FIFA World Cup.
The Government of Tucumán has said the stadium will be built in the town of San Isidro de Lules in northern Argentina. A contract has been signed for the execution of the executive preliminary project for a sports stadium with a capacity of 45,000 or 50,000, along with a parking lot for 10,000 vehicles.
According to Ámbito Financiero, the new facility will be modelled on Estadio Único Madre de Ciudades, which opened in Santiago del Estero in March 2021. To this end, the architects who designed it, José María Luciani and Pablo Campopiano, have been hired.
The new stadium will be designed to meet all the requirements to host national and international football matches, as well as those of Argentina’s rugby union team.
Olé said the project is expected to cost around $140m (£122.5m/€141.6m), with Carlos Gallia, Mayor of San Isidro de Lules, telling the newspaper: “Now we are working on the preliminary project, to bid in three to four months. Tucumán wants it.
“It will not be a lump of cold cement. It will have restaurants, a conference room for more than 1,500 people that the province does not have. It will follow the protocol rules of FIFA, the AFA (Argentinian Football Association), the UAR (Argentinian Rugby Union). Because Tucumán is also about rugby.
“It will be a super modern stadium with the latest technology, with the chance to remove seats to set up and take down stands. If all goes well, in three years, August-September 2025, it could be (completed). It would be a provincial stadium, 80% with the participation of the municipality.
“It will be the only stadium in Tucumán. With a historical museum even. And maybe, in 2030, it can be in the World Cup. In two weeks we will have the final sketch but, as a reference, it will be similar to the one in Santiago del Estero, although twice as big.”
A South American bid for the 2030 FIFA World Cup formally launched last month, with Uruguay set to take the lead on a four-nation effort that will also include Argentina, Chile and Paraguay.
Driven under the banners of ‘2030 Juntos’ and ‘Mundial Centenario’, the bid has been backed by the South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) and intends to mark the centenary of the staging of the inaugural edition of the World Cup in Uruguay in 1930.
Image: Jlazarte/Edited for size
