Last update 20 July, 2021 by Alberto Llopis
¿Conoces el Estadio El Cobre? Atacama Desert in the heart of Chile. The driest place on the planet, the site where they have been counted 400 years without a drop. Where to be five or ten years without rain is normal in the world, another for ordinary something. Unknown by many, in recent times over Dakar rally puts it in January in the main news of the world.
The Estadio El Cobre, the most remote sports venue in the world
Oddly enough because there is a team of Chilean football Primera Division that enjoys above have the luxury of having the biggest stadium in the world, not their ability, but because it is never crowded. It's the Club Cobresal Sports, the mining camp of El Salvador is located in the town of Diego de Almagro, in the Atacama Region. And the stadium in question, He Estadio El Cobre, capable 20.752 personas, three times more than the existing population in El Salvador.
The history of this stadium dates back to the late 70. El Salvador wanted to join the Chilean professional football and one of the requirements was to build a stadium in line to play games at the highest level. Ni cortos ni perezosos, the inhabitants of the area with Codelco contributions and community involvement in El Salvador rose a work which opened in 1980 and that had an initial capacity of 7.000 personas, he 100% of the population. The hardest part was not building itself, but curiously, transport and subsequent maintenance of natural grass, given the dry conditions and the difficulty of arrival in the area.
The desert stadium
The enclosure of the Estadio El Cobre does not enjoy great luxuries and even in 1999 got light sources provided to accommodate television broadcasts. Cobresal Sports Club has only one official title in Chile, a successful Cup 1987 with players of the stature of Ivan Zamorano, While the team has participated in the Copa Libertadores, something that made that would expand its size to today 20.000 locations. Its traditional rival is Cobreloa, who dispute the so-called classic copper. During the eighties with Regional Atacama disputed the classic called the Third Region.
In relation to Estadio el Cobre It must be said that in addition to all these particularities indicated, it presents another consequence of the aforementioned. It never has filled, something that has earned him the bad name of “The world's largest stadium”.
*This post would not be possible without the contribution of Ryoga Toro, who gave us such an exciting story in our article larger cities stadiums.