The Estadio Olimpico Pascual Guerrero is a football stadium, also used for athletics, concerts, and rugby sevens, in Cali, Colombia. The stadium is named to honor the poet Pascual Guerrero. The stadium and the sports complex that surrounds it are one of the finest and most modern sports complexes in Latin America, and led to references of Cali as the "Sports Capital of America".
The "Pascual", as Cali's inhabitants usually call the stadium, replaced the now defunct Estadio Galilea which was located in the Versailles neighbourhood, where the first national athletics competition was held in 1928. The Pascual is still an important venue for domestic and international sporting events.
With renovations made for the 2011 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Colombia and additional suits and sky boxes, the stadium's capacity was reduced to 35,405 people.
Events
Sports
The stadium regularly hosts home matches of football clubs América de Cali, Atlético, and Boca Juniors de Cali, which compete in Categoría Primera A (América) and Categoría Primera B (Atlético and Boca Juniors), the two tiers of Colombian club football. It was also one of the host stadiums for the 2001 Copa América, being the headquarters of Group B. A total of six games between the national teams of Brazil, Paraguay, Peru and Mexico were played at the stadium between 11 and 17 July 2001. The stadium also hosted games in the 2011 FIFA U-20 World Cup and the 2022 Copa América Femenina. In 2024, it hosted matches of the 2024 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup.
The stadium has also hosted the 1971 Pan American Games and the National Games on several occasions, the 1995 Games of the Pacific Ocean, the 2005 South American Championships in Athletics, the 2013 World Games, the 2015 World Athletics U18 Championship, the 2021 Junior Pan American Games and the 2022 World Athletics U20 Championships.
The stadium is also the training site and home for Liga Vallecaucana School and Intercollegiate Games.
Cultural Music
The more traditional music event that takes place in the stadium is the Super Concert, in which different bands and invited singers perform at the annual celebration named Feria de Cali, which is held between the 25th to the 30th of December. During the eighties, there was a big concert named "Festival de Orquestas" of La Feria de Cali, which for a whole day had different orchestras playing for about 12 hours.
Also, the stadium is the main stage of national and international artists. Juanes, Maná, Shakira, Soda Estereo, Marc Anthony, Gloria Estefan, David Gilmour and Roger Daltrey are some of the artists that have performed at the stadium. Vicente Fernandez is scheduled to perform at the stadium during his Mi Despedida World Tour.
Various Christian events have also been held at the venue, including a two-day 'Miracle Crusade' with Nigerian Pastor T.B. Joshua in 2014.
Facilities
The stadium is divided into seven stands for sporting events (in order from lowest to highest ct):
- South Grandstand: For the same price as the northern platform, is the most economical. In the gallery are usually locate bars Baron Rojo Sur Team America and Frente Radical Verde Deportivo Cali team. These fans are known for being the "hooligans" from their respective teams and their violent history can not be on the same platform as the city teams play each other. Usually the fans of the team official visitor gallery is located in the north. The location and subsequent departure of the fans is controlled by the National Police.
- North Grandstand: In this forum, which is geographically located to the west, lies the electronic board, which after many years of being out of service, is making its reconstruction.
- Lower East Grandstand: On the first two floors of the east side of the stadium is the most popular platform from which there is a complete panorama of the stadium.
- Upper East Grandstand: The second of the two floors of the east side, offers a prime view of the stadium by not having to be interrupted by the safety net on the first floor.
- Tribuna 1st Floor West: On this side of the stadium the locker rooms are located, the area of arbitrators and the benches of both teams.
- Tribuna 3rd Floor West: In this area are booths and sports media transmission.
- West 2nd Floor Grandstand: It is the only forum in the stadium with numbered seats and therefore is reserved for members of the teams.
Location and Access Routes
The stadium is located in the San Fernando traditional neighborhood in central-south of the city, between the traditional Fifth Street (Calle 5a) and Roosevelt Avenue (Calle 6a). Next to the stage of the Evangelista Mora gym arena, the Alberto Galindo Olympic Pools and form the so-called San Fernando Sports Unit also known as Pan American Sports Unit.
Access from the South or North of the city is Fifth Street, which passes a backbone of Mass Transit System MIO and has a station right in front of Parque de las Banderas. From the south you can get to the stadium along the Avenue of the Hippodrome (Better known as Ninth Street), going through the intersection of the Diagonal 34 to Roosevelt Avenue, which restricts access of vehicles during the course of the event.
Near the south stand is the "Booth Maria" ballots authorized outlets. The stadium has no parking, but often used is the street and surrounding streets to park cars, with no particular formal surveillance.
Average attendances
See also
- List of football stadiums in Colombia
- Lists of stadiums