Félix Sánchez Olympic Stadium

Estadio Olímpico Félix Sánchez is an open-air multi-purpose stadium in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Opened in 1974 for the XII Central American & Caribbean Games and renovated for the 2003 Pan American Games, it is the largest stadium in the Dominican Republic. It is used mostly for football and track and field and as a music venue. The stadium has a sporting events' capacity of 24,863 people, though it has seen crowds of 35,000. For concerts, its stated capacity is 50,000 people. It was formerly known as Estadio Olímpico Juan Pablo Duarte, because of the sports complex where it is located (Centro Olímpico Juan Pablo Duarte), However, in 2005 it was named after the 400 m hurdles athlete Félix Sánchez after he won the gold medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. It served as home of the Dominican football teams Bauger FC and Atletico Pantoja and is of one of three stadiums to have served as home of the Dominican Republic national football team. History In February 1966, the construction of the Juan Pablo Duarte Olympic complex was begun in time to host the XII Central American & Caribbean Games. Concluded in February 1974, the stadium was inaugurated with the name of Juan Pablo Duarte Stadium named after the founding father. It had a capacity of 22,000. The stadium hosted the track & field events of the XII Central American & Caribbean Games between 27 February and 13 March 1974. Between the 1980s and 1990s the stadium served as host for several events including concerts and religion celebration. In 1997, the stadium served as venue of the first edition of the Latin Music Festival sponsored by the Dominican beer Presidente, Festival Presidente de la Musica Latina. The music festival was a commercial success, inviting several international pop stars. The music festival returned in 1998, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2010, 2014, 2017 & 2026. It was renovated for the 2003 Pan American Games to host the track & field events and the opening and closing ceremonies. It was equipped with 24,000 fixed seats and areas for special guests, press, dressing rooms and a cafeteria. It was inaugurated on 23 July 2003, by the president Hipolito Mejia with a renovation cost of over US$6 million of dollars. In August 2004, the stadium hosted a friendly game between the Brazil national football team and Haiti and it included the participation of football stars of Ronaldo and Ronaldinho. In May 2005, the name of the stadium was officially changed to Felix Sanchez Olympic Stadium honoring the 400 m hurdles athlete Félix Sánchez for winning a gold medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. In 2012, he won another medal on the same category at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. During the 2000s and 2010s decades several international pop artists performed concerts at the stadium including Shakira, Coldplay, Daddy Yankee, Juan Luis Guerra, Luis Miguel, Ricardo Arjona, Maroon 5, and Britney Spears. It also served as host for matches of the 2024 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup, including the final. Notable events Notes References Sources events Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine concerts installation stadium data Archived 2017-02-16 at the Wayback Machine External links