# José Amalfitani Stadium

The José Amalfitani Stadium (also known as El Fortín de Liniers or Estadio Vélez Sarsfield) is a football stadium located in the Liniers neighborhood of Buenos Aires, Argentina, near Liniers railway station. The venue is the home of the Argentine Primera División club Vélez Sarsfield. The stadium was named after José Amalfitani, who was president of Vélez Sarsfield for 30 years.
The original, temporary stadium was built between 1941 and 1943 in wood, and the current facility was built in cement between 1947 and 1951. It was renovated and enlarged 26 years later in preparation for the 1978 FIFA World Cup. The stadium has a capacity of 49,540 spectators, although it does not provide seating for all of them like most Argentine stadia.
The Estadio José Amalfitani is also the national stadium for the Argentina national rugby union team (Los Pumas). Although the team plays test matches throughout the country, their highest-profile tests (such as against the New Zealand All Blacks) are usually held here. The Jaguares, a team that participated in the Super Rugby league from 2016 to 2020, played its home games at the stadium.

## History
### Predecessors

During its first years of existence, Vélez Sarsfield football team played its games in vacant lands of the neighborhood, with removable goal posts. In 1913 the Argentine Football Association ordered the club to host its home games at a bigger stadium so the club moved to the Juan Martín Figallo's (a neighbor) country house on Rodó and Escalada streets. Figallo rented the club part of his land.
In 1914, the club called an assembly to discuss the possibility to rent lands on better places. The club got a land behind Villa Luro station, between Cortina and Bacacay streets. But the definitive stadium would be built in 1922, when the club rented a land to López Bancalari Brothers on Guardia Nacional street. The club started to build a grandstand while the team continued playing in Villa Luro and other fields, until the construction finished. Works were ready in 1924, when the club inaugurated its first stadium with a grandstand, lockers, coffee shop, personnel room and secretary. The stadium was officially opened in a friendly match v River Plate.
New grandstands were built between 1926 and 1927, completing the four sides of the stadium and therefore increasing its capacity. In 1935, the first match with artificial lighting was played at Vélez Sarsfield venue. The local team defeated Platense 4–2. The end of an era came in 1940 when the club was intimated to leave the lands where the stadium was located due to the rental contract had expired.

### Current venue

After suffering relegation from the Argentine Primera División in 1940, Vélez was sacked from the Villa Luro ground they were renting. Three years later, in 1941, the club obtained the terrain of the current stadium, property of the Buenos Aires Western Railway. The ground was a swamp of the Maldonado Stream, where construction was difficult. However, the club's president José Amalfitani led the construction of the first stadium at the site, which was inaugurated on April 11, 1943. The new stadium used the same wood stands from the old Villa Luro stadium, and was inaugurated in a 2–2 draw with River Plate. Vélez striker Juan José Ferraro scored the first goal in the stadium's history (the others were scored by Ángel Fernández for Vélez and Adolfo Pedernera twice for River). The current stadium was inaugurated on April 22, 1951.
The stadium was renamed in honor of José Amalfitani on December 7, 1968. The following year, a modern lighting system by Siemens was installed, and the first of the upper stand sections was completed.
José Amalfitani Stadium was the first venue in South America with a lighting system, inaugurated in 1928. After the stadium was inaugurated, one of the members of Vélez Sarsfield executive committee, Raùl D'Onofrio (father of then president of River Plate Rodolfo D'Onofrio), came up with the idea of bring the lighting system used in baseball stadiums in the US that had impressed him. Nevertheless, the club later would sign an agreement with Germany-based company Siemens to be is supplier. José Amalfitani Stadium inaugurated its lighting system in 1969 in a match vs Brazilian Santos FC
Vélez Sarsfield drew an average home attendance of 41,646 in the 2024 Argentine Primera División.

## Events hosted
### Football
#### 1978 FIFA World Cup

The stadium was refurbished for the 1978 FIFA World Cup with the completion of press boxes and another section of upper stands, and hosted three games in the group stages.
| Date | Round | Group | Team 1 | Vs. | Team 2 |
| June 3 | 1 | 3 | Austria | 2–1 | Spain |
| June 7 | 1 | 3 | Austria | 1–0 | Sweden |
| June 11 | 1 | 3 | Spain | 1–0 | Sweden |

#### Argentina friendly matches

| Date | Rival | Res. |
| 22 April 1974 | Romania | 2-1 |
| 5 May 1982 | Bulgaria | 2-1 |
| 23 June 1983 | Chile | 1-0 |
| 25 September 1984 | Mexico | 1-1 |
| 16 December 1987 | Germany | 1-0 |
| 13 March 1991 | Mexico | 0-0 |
| 27 March 1991 | Brazil | 3-3 |
| 21 December 1994 | Romania | 1-0 |
| 10 March 1998 | Bulgaria | 2-0 |

### Rugby union

The José Amalfitani Stadium is the current home ground for the Jaguares, an Argentine Super Rugby franchise. The ground has also hosted the Argentina national team (Los Pumas) since 1986, when the side left to play at Ferro Carril Oeste Stadium (their home venue by then) searching for higher capacity stadiums.
When South Africa played Argentina in November 2005 at Vélez Sarsfield, they faced a strong Pumas side, which took a 20–16 lead into the half-time break, before fading in the second half and losing 34–23.
In the 2006 mid-year tests, the second test against Wales, saw the Pumas win 45–27, Argentina's largest win ever over Wales. The national squad next hosted the world's top team, the All Blacks. The New Zealanders survived an Argentine assault in the final minutes to hang on to win 25–19 and to deny Argentina a huge upset.
Los Pumas began their final preparation for the 2007 World Cup with a summer two-test series against visiting Ireland, including a 16–0 win at Vélez Sarsfield.

#### Argentina test matches

| Date | Rival | Res. | Score |
| 31 May 1986 | France | won | 15–13 |
| 7 June 1986 | France | lost | 9–22 |
| 18 June 1988 | France | lost | 15–18 |
| 25 June 1988 | France | won | 18–6 |
| 31 October 1987 | Australia | tie | 19–19 |
| 7 November 1987 | Australia | won | 27–19 |
| 24 June 1989 | Italy | won | 21–16 |
| 28 July 1990 | England | won | 15–13 |
| 4 August 1990 | England | lost | 12–25 |
| 6 July 1991 | New Zealand | lost | 14–28 |
| 13 July 1991 | New Zealand | lost | 6–36 |
| 4 July 1992 | France | lost | 12–27 |
| 11 July 1992 | France | lost | 9–33 |
| 13 June 1998 | France | lost | 18–35 |
| 20 June 1998 | France | lost | 12–37 |
| 15 June 2002 | France | won | 28–27 |
| 22 June 2002 | England | lost | 18–26 |
| 14 June 2003 | France | won | 10–6 |
| 20 June 2003 | France | won | 33–32 |
| 4 December 2004 | South Africa | lost | 7–39 |
| 5 November 2005 | South Africa | lost | 23–34 |
| 17 June 2006 | Wales | won | 45–27 |
| 24 June 2006 | New Zealand | lost | 19–25 |
| 2 June 2007 | Ireland | won | 16–0 |
| 14 June 2008 | Scotland | lost | 14–26 |
| 26 June 2010 | France | won | 41–13 |
| 15 June 2013 | England | lost | 26–51 |
| 15 August 2015 | South Africa | lost | 12–26 |
| 1 October 2016 | New Zealand | lost | 17–36 |
| 30 September 2017 | New Zealand | lost | 10–36 |
| 29 September 2018 | New Zealand | lost | 17–35 |
| 21 July 2019 | New Zealand | lost | 16–20 |

#### Club matches

| Date | Team | Score | Rival | Ref. |
| 14 Jul 1990 | Banco Nación | 29–21 | England | |
| 10 Oct 1987 | San Isidro Club | 22–22 | Australia | |

## Concerts

The stadium has hosted many international concerts since the 1980s. English rock band Queen was the first to perform at Vélez Sarsfield –giving three concerts in February 1981– as part of The Game Tour to support their successful homonymous album. The visit of the band (which was at the peak of their career by then) had huge repercussions in Argentina, being widely covered by the media, and famous personalities –such as Diego Maradona– attending to their concerts.
José Amalfitani Stadium hosts events of up to 50,000 spectators.
| Artist | Date | Tour |
| Queen | February 28, March 1 and 8, 1981 | The Game Tour |
| Yes | February 1, 2 and 9, 1985 | 9012Live Tour |
| INXS | October 11, 1985 | |
| Nina Hagen | October 12, 1985 | |
| Tears for Fears | January 23, 1990 | Seeds of Love |
| Bon Jovi | February 1, 1990 | New Jersey Syndicate Tour |
| Erasure | March 31, 1990 | Wild! Tour |
| Roxette | May 2 and 3, 1992 | Join the Joyride! Tour |
| Nirvana | October 30, 1992 | Nevermind Tour |
| Joe Cocker and Brian May | November 7, 1992 | |
| The B-52's | November 8, 1992 | |
| Duran Duran | April 30, 1993 | 1993-1994 The Dilate Your Mind Tour |
| Metallica | May 7 and 8, 1993 | Nowhere Else to Roam |
| Santana | May 29, 1993 | Milagro Tour |
| Peter Gabriel | October 2, 1993 | Secret World Tour |
| Bon Jovi | November 12, 13 and 14, 1993 | I'll Sleep When I'm Dead Tour |
| Luis Miguel | November 19, 1993 | Aries Tour |
| Aerosmith | January 17, 1994 | Get a Grip Tour |
| INXS | March 4, 1994 | Dirty Honeymoon Tour |
| Sting | March 25, 1994 | Ten Summoner's Tales Tour |
| Depeche Mode | April 8, 1994 | Exotic Tour/Summer Tour '94 |
| Whitney Houston | April 16 and 17, 1994 | The Bodyguard World Tour |
| Ramones | May 14, 1994 | 20th Anniversary Tour |
| Luis Miguel | November 11& 12, 1994 | Segundo Romance Tour |
| Testament | June 16, 1995 | Low |
| Marilyn Manson | September 11, 1997 | Dead to the World Tour |
| Luis Miguel | November 14, 15 & 16, 1997 | Romances Tour |
| Iron Maiden | December 12, 1998 | Virtual XI World Tour |
| Luis Miguel | November 5, 6 & 7, 1999 | Amarte Es Un Placer Tour |
| Queens of the Stone Age | January 13, 2001 | Rated R |
| Iron Maiden | January 13, 2001 | Brave New World Tour |
| Red Hot Chili Peppers | January 24, 2001 | Red Hot Chili Peppers 2001 Tour |
| Roger Waters | March 7, 2002 | In the Flesh Tour |
| Luis Miguel | November 24 and 25, 2002 | Mis Romances Tour |
| Luis Miguel | December 5, 6 & 7, 2003 | 33 Tour |
| Iron Maiden | January 11, 2004 | Dance of Death World Tour |
| Luis Miguel | November 10, 11 & 12, 2005 | México En La Piel Tour |
| Shakira | November 24 and 25, 2006 | Oral Fixation Tour |
| The Killers | November 2, 2007 | Sam's Town Tour |
| Bob Dylan | March 15, 2008 | Never Ending Tour 2008 |
| Rod Stewart | April 11, 2008 | Rocks His Greatest Hits Tour |
| Queen + Paul Rodgers | November 21, 2008 | Rock the Cosmos Tour |
| Luis Miguel | November 27, 28, 29 & 30, 2008 | Cómplices Tour |
| Peter Gabriel | March 22, 2009 | Small Place |
| Guns N' Roses | March 22, 2010 | Chinese Democracy Tour |
| Linkin Park | October 7, 2010 | A Thousand Suns Tour |
| Luis Miguel | November 25, 26, 27 & 28, 2010 | Luis Miguel Tour |
| Iron Maiden | April 8, 2011 | The Final Frontier World Tour |
| Rod Stewart | October 22, 2011 | Heart & Soul Tour |
| Elton John | March 2, 2013 | 40th Anniversary of the Rocket Man |
| Nickelback | September 26, 2013 | Here and Now Tour |
| Bon Jovi | September 26, 2013 | Because We Can: The Tour |
| Stevie Wonder | December 12, 2013 | |
| One Direction | May 3 and 4, 2014 | Where We Are Tour (One Direction) |
| No Te Va Gustar | April 11, 2015 | |
| KISS | April 16, 2015 | The KISS 40th Anniversary World Tour |
| Chayanne | April 25, 2015 | En Todo Estaré Tour |
| Iron Maiden | March 15, 2016 | The Book of Souls World Tour |
| Green Day | November 10, 2017 | Revolution Radio Tour |
| Queens of the Stone Age | March 7, 2018 | Villains World Tour |
| Foo Fighters | March 7, 2018 | Concrete and Gold Tour |
| Shakira | October 25, 2018 | El Dorado World Tour |
| Iron Maiden | October 12, 2019 | Legacy of the Beast World Tour |
| Billy Idol | September 11, 2022 | The Roadside Tour 2022 |
| Green Day | September 11, 2022 | Hella Mega Tour |
| Lali Espósito | March 4, 2023 | Disciplina Tour |
| Karol G | April 26 & 27, 2024 | Mañana Será Bonito Tour |
| Eric Clapton | September 20, 2024 | |