# Estadio Nacional de Costa Rica (2011)

The National Stadium of Costa Rica (Spanish: Estadio Nacional de Costa Rica) is a multi-purpose stadium in La Sabana Metropolitan Park, San José, Costa Rica. It was the first modern sporting and events arena to be built in Central America. The stadium was completed in early 2011 and officially opened its doors to the public on March 26 of that year, with a capacity of 35,175 seats. The stadium replaced the original National Stadium (built 100 years ago), and is the home stadium of the Costa Rican national football team.
It has one high-definition, 160-square-metre (1,700 sq ft) video screen located in the southern section of the stadium, along with a smaller, monochromatic screen. A second monochromatic screen (of the same dimensions) is in the northern section.
The stadium hosted matches during the 2014 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup, including the opening game, the third place match and the Final, as well as matches during the 2022 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup, including the opening game and the Final.
The Estadio Nacional hosted the kickoff show of Coldplay's Music of the Spheres World Tour, due to the green credentials of the country.

## Funding and Construction

The initial cost was $88 million, it grew to $100 million.
In 2007, Costa Rican President Óscar Arias requested that during a state visit to China that China fund a stadium for Costa Rica.$^{:50}$ The Chinese government financed the construction, furnishing, and general costs of the stadium on their own. The old National Stadium was demolished on May 12, 2008, after UCR (Universidad de Costa Rica) vs. Brujas FC match and a 200M race where Nery Brenes set a new national record (20:28 seconds).
The president of Costa Rica, Óscar Arias and the leader of People's Republic of China Hu Jintao, agreed to build the stadium during Arias' first visit to China in October 2007. The construction began on March 12, 2009, and it finished in 2011.
The Chinese company Anhui Foreign Economic Construction was in charge of the construction of the stadium. About 800 Chinese workers immigrated.

## Inauguration

The grand inauguration ceremony occurred on March 26, 2011. National and international sports activities and entertainment went on through April 10. An official stadium inauguration website was created, which informed the population of all inaugurating events.
The main inaugurating event was a friendly association football match between Costa Rica and China, which ended 2–2, with Álvaro Saborío scoring the first goal ever in the stadium.
During 2011, the new stadium was subject of a heavy investment made by the Costa Rican Football Federation to propel Costa Rican football into the world scene. To do this, the federation organized friendly matches against previous FIFA World Cup winners Argentina, Brazil, and Spain, with the latter being the then most recent winners of the tournament.

## Football tournaments
### 2013 Copa Centroamericana

The Estadio Nacional hosted all 14 matches of the 2013 Copa Centroamericana.
| Date | Team #1 | Result | Team #2 | Round | Attendance |
| 18 January 2013 | Guatemala | 1–1 | Nicaragua | Group A (opening match) | 200 |
| 18 January 2013 | Honduras | 1–1 | El Salvador | Group B | 2,500 |
| 18 January 2013 | Costa Rica | 1–0 | Belize | Group A | 5,484 |
| 20 January 2013 | Belize | 0–0 | Guatemala | Group A | 250 |
| 20 January 2013 | El Salvador | 0–0 | Panama | Group B | 250 |
| 20 January 2013 | Costa Rica | 2–0 | Nicaragua | Group A | 5,980 |
| 22 January 2013 | Nicaragua | 1–2 | Belize | Group A | 750 |
| 22 January 2013 | Panama | 1–1 | Honduras | Group B | 3,450 |
| 22 January 2013 | Costa Rica | 1–1 | Guatemala | Group A | 6,760 |
| 25 January 2013 | Guatemala | 1–3 | Panama | 5th Place Match | 279 |
| 25 January 2013 | Honduras | 1–0 | Belize | Semifinals | 1,664 |
| 25 January 2013 | Costa Rica | 1–0 | El Salvador | Semifinals | 4,993 |
| 27 January 2013 | El Salvador | 1–0 | Belize | Third place match | 1,997 |
| 27 January 2013 | Costa Rica | 1–0 | Honduras | Final | 14,146 |

### 2014 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup

El Nacional hosted nine games of the 2014 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup. It hosted four Group A matches; including the opener, a Group C and Group D game, two quarterfinal matches, the 3rd place play-off and the final. The games were:
| Date | Team #1 | Result | Team #2 | Round | Attendance |
| 15 March 2014 | Italy | 2–0 | Zambia | Group A (opening match) | 34,453 |
| 15 March 2014 | Costa Rica | 0–3 | Venezuela | Group A | 34,453 |
| 18 March 2014 | Venezuela | 4–0 | Zambia | Group A | 25,624 |
| 18 March 2014 | Costa Rica | 0–1 | Italy | Group A | 25,624 |
| 23 March 2014 | Japan | 3–0 | New Zealand | Group C | 5,100 |
| 23 March 2014 | Nigeria | 3–0 | Mexico | Group D | 5,100 |
| 27 March 2014 | Venezuela | 3–2 | Canada | Quarter-finals | 1,812 |
| 27 March 2014 | Ghana | 2–2 (4–3 p) | Italy | Quarter-finals | 1,812 |
| 4 April 2014 | Venezuela | 4–4 (2–0 p) | Italy | Third place match | 29,814 |
| 4 April 2014 | Japan | 2–0 | Spain | Final | 29,814 |

### 2022 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup

Estadio Nacional hosted eighteen games of the 2022 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup. It hosted four Group A matches, two Group B games, four Group C games, and two Group D games, two quarterfinal matches, two semifinal matches, the 3rd place play-off and the final. The games were:
| Date | Team #1 | Result | Team #2 | Round | Attendance |
| 10 August 2022 | Spain | 0–0 | Brazil | Group A | 9,819 |
| 10 August 2022 | Costa Rica | 1–3 | Australia | Group A | 22,506 |
| 11 August 2022 | France | 0–1 | Nigeria | Group C | 723 |
| 11 August 2022 | Canada | 0–2 | South Korea | Group C | 839 |
| 13 August 2022 | Mexico | 1–1 | Colombia | Group B | 9,336 |
| 13 August 2022 | Costa Rica | 0–5 | Spain | Group A | 22,446 |
| 14 August 2022 | United States | 0–3 | Netherlands | Group D | 2,652 |
| 14 August 2022 | France | 3–1 | Canada | Group C | 2,652 |
| 16 August 2022 | Colombia | 2–2 | New Zealand | Group B | 3,378 |
| 16 August 2022 | Brazil | 5–0 | Costa Rica | Group A | 11,923 |
| 17 August 2022 | Netherlands | 4–1 | Ghana | Group D | 814 |
| 17 August 2022 | South Korea | 0–1 | France | Group C | 979 |
| 20 August 2022 | Spain | 1–0 | Mexico | Quarter-finals | 4,914 |
| 20 August 2022 | Colombia | 0–1 | Brazil | Quarter-finals | 7,874 |
| 25 August 2022 | Spain | 2–1 | Netherlands | Semi-finals | 4,054 |
| 25 August 2022 | Brazil | 1–2 | Japan | Semi-finals | 6,571 |
| 28 August 2022 | Netherlands | 1–4 | Brazil | Third place match | 15,672 |
| 28 August 2022 | Spain | 3–1 | Japan | Final | 29,891 |

## Concerts

| Date(s) | Artist | Opening act(s) | Performance | Attendance |
| 10 April 2011 | Shakira | — | The Sun Comes Out World Tour | 34,516 / 34,516 |
| 21 May 2011 | Miley Cyrus | — | Gypsy Heart Tour | 33,451 / 33,451 |
| 12 September 2011 | Red Hot Chili Peppers | Foals | I'm with You World Tour | 20,716 / 23,300 |
| 27 September 2011 | Judas Priest | Whitesnake | Epitaph World Tour | — |
| 20 November 2011 | Pearl Jam | X | Pearl Jam Twenty Tour | — |
| 3 November 2012 | Lady Gaga | The Darkness Lady Starlight | Born This Way Ball | 29,014 / 29,014 |
| 1 October 2013 | Aerosmith | — | Global Warming Tour | — |
| 22 October 2013 | Black Sabbath | Megadeth | Black Sabbath Reunion Tour | — |
| 1 May 2014 | Paul McCartney | — | Out There | 27,001 / 35,228 |
| 5 September 2015 | Camila | — | Elypse World Tour | — |
| 20 February 2016 | Marc Anthony | Gente de Zona | Marc Anthony Live! | — |
| 19 May 2016 | Alejandro Sanz | — | Sirope Tour | — |
| 20 August 2016 | Laura Pausini | — | Simili Tour | — |
| 5 November 2016 | Metallica | Heresy | WorldWired Tour | 32,934 / 33,953 |
| 26 November 2016 | Guns N' Roses | Gandhi | Not in This Lifetime... Tour | 29,560 / 35,785 |
| 24 April 2017 | Justin Bieber | Bartosz Brenes | Purpose World Tour | 23,377 / 26,985 |
| 7 May 2017 | Soy Luna | — | Soy Luna Live | — |
| 9 May 2017 | Sting | — | 57th & 9th Tour | 8,454 / 8,454 |
| 19 August 2017 | Ricardo Montaner | — | Normal Man Tour | — |
| 7 December 2017 | Bruno Mars | DNCE | 24K Magic World Tour | 38,052 / 38,052 |
| 28 February 2018 | Myriam Hernández | — | Gala of Love | — |
| 7 March 2018 | Joaquín Sabina | — | Lo Niego Todo Tour | — |
| 8 August 2018 | Laura Pausini | — | Fatti Sentire World Tour | — |
| 18 August 2018 | Marc Anthony | — | | — |
| 15 September 2018 | Soy Luna | — | Soy Luna Live 2 | — |
| 24 November 2018 | Roger Waters | — | Us + Them Tour | 46,111 / 47,101 |
| 30 November 2018 | Chayanne | — | Desde el Alma Tour | 25,000 / 30,000 |
| 21 March 2019 | Luis Miguel | — | México Por Siempre Tour | — |
| 17 August 2019 | Ricardo Montaner | — | — | — |
| 30 November 2019 | Morat | — | Balas Perdidas Tour | — |
| 7 December 2019 | Chayanne | — | Desde el Alma Tour | 38,000 / 40,000 |
| 20 February 2020 | Pablo Alborán | — | Tour Prometo | — |
| 23 February 2020 | Caifanes | — | — | — |
| 18 March 2022 | Coldplay | H.E.R. MishCatt | Music of the Spheres World Tour | 86,199 / 86,199 |
| 19 March 2022 | Coldplay | H.E.R. MishCatt | Music of the Spheres World Tour | 86,199 / 86,199 |
| 25 June 2022 | Paulina Rubio | — | — | — |
| 22 October 2022 | Daddy Yankee | Tapón & Dani Maro Choché Romano Jair Cruz & El Tigre Tony | La Última Vuelta World Tour | 68,025 / 70,587 |
| 23 October 2022 | Daddy Yankee | Tapón & Dani Maro Choché Romano Jair Cruz & El Tigre Tony | La Última Vuelta World Tour | 68,025 / 70,587 |
| 24 November 2022 | Bad Bunny | In Betwin Jurgen Dorsam DJ Tocuma | World's Hottest Tour | 52,851 / 52,851 |
| 25 November 2022 | Eros Ramazotti | — | Battito Infinito World Tour | TBA |
| 25 February 2023 | Joaquín Sabina | — | Contra Todo Pronóstico Tour | TBA |
| 5 March 2023 | Caifanes | — | 2023 Tour | TBA |
| 17 March 2023 | Melendi | — | Likes and Scars Tour | TBA |
| 18 March 2023 | Sin Bandera | — | Frequency Tour | TBA |
| 15 April 2023 | Carlos Rivera | — | A Tour to Everywhere | TBA |
| 10 June 2023 | Juan Luis Guerra | — | Entre Mar y Palmeras Tour | TBA |
| 29 July 2023 | Grupo Firme | — | You Have To Connect It Tour | TBA |
| 13 August 2023 | Lucero Manuel Mijares | — | Until We Were Made | TBA |
| 9 September 2023 | Rubén Blades | — | Salswing Tour | TBA |
| 31 October 2023 | Red Hot Chili Peppers | IRONTOM Saint Cecilia | Global Stadium Tour | 51,838 / 51,838 |
| 2 December 2023 | Roger Waters | — | This Is Not a Drill | TBA |
| 8 February 2024 | Luis Miguel | — | Luis Miguel Tour 2023–24 | 38,714 / 38,714 |
| 9 March 2024 | Karol G | — | Mañana Será Bonito Tour | 104,761 / 104,761 |
| 10 March 2024 | Karol G | — | Mañana Será Bonito Tour | 104,761 / 104,761 |

## Fire incident

During the opening ceremony of the 2013 Central American Games, a fire broke out in the stadium because of a stray firework which hit the western part of the stadium roof. The fire damaged some lighting equipments but the stadium was still used for the Games.