page_title: La Serena, Chile
section_title: Sports
hierarchical_section_title: La Serena, Chile / Sports
caption_attribution_description: English: La Portada
context_page_description: La Serena is a city and commune in northern Chile, capital of the Coquimbo Region. Founded in 1544, it is the country's second oldest city after the national capital, Santiago. As of 2012, it had a communal population of roughly 200,000, and was one of the fastest-growing areas of Chile.
  The city is an important tourist destination, especially during the summer, where people go to visit the beaches. It is in the headquarters of the University of La Serena and also is home to the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of La Serena, one of five Catholic Archdioceses of the Catholic Church in Chile.
context_section_description: The city has a football team called Deportes La Serena that plays in the second tier of the Chilean league of football. Their home games are played at the La Portada stadium, which has seating for approximately 18,000 spectators. Their biggest rivals are near-neighbors Coquimbo Unido. They are nicknamed "Los Papayeros", because of the papayas that are grown near La Serena in the Elqui Valley.
  Since 2007, there has been a professional tennis tournament, the Challenger de La Serena, on the courts of the Estadio Universidad del Mar, in which the first champion was the Argentine Mariano Zabaleta. The courts also hosted the Davis Cup series between Chile and Russia at the beginning of February 2007.
caption: La Portada stadium.
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