El Monumental

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Lore & Background

Club Atlético River Plate was founded in 1901. On 31 October 1934, River Plate purchased the land where the club was to build the new stadium in the neighbourhood of Belgrano. El Monumental was built on land reclaimed from the marshy coast of Río de la Plata. On 25 May 1935, the cornerstone was laid. On 1 December of that year, the Steering Committee presented the approved project. They obtained a loan of $2,500,000 from the government and on 27 September 1936, construction began under the direction of architects José Aslan and Héctor Ezcurra. The initial cost of work reached $4,479,545.80, but was reduced to about 3 million dollars when the committee decided to halt the construction of the north end due to a lack of adequate funds. The stadium was inaugurated on Wednesday 26 May, amidst a crowd of approximately 70,000 people. The next day, nearly 68,000 spectators were present. The evening ended with a match between River Plate and Uruguay team Peñarol, with a 3–1 victory for the home squad. Estadio Monumental was redeveloped from 2020 to 2023 and removed the long existing athletic track and added more seats. The stadium partially reopened in February 2023. In 2022, the stadium's naming rights were purchased by supermarket chain ChangoMâs. In January 2026, it was announced that the Estadio Monumental would undergo an expansion to increase its capacity to 101,000, including a roof, estimated to take around 36 months and cost around $100 million.

In Their Own Story

On the evening of 26 May 1938, nearly 70,000 people gathered for the inauguration, singing anthems before witnessing River Plate defeat Uruguay's Peñarol 3–1. Decades later, the stadium transformed into a cauldron for the 1978 World Cup Final on June 25, where Argentina defeated the Netherlands to secure their first title. The venue also hosted seven other matches during that tournament, opening with West Germany versus Poland. In 1982, San Lorenzo set a record for visiting attendance when over 70,000 fans traveled to River's ground for a second-division match against Tigre. The stadium's history is punctuated by massive crowds, such as the estimated 100,000 present in 1975 when River ended an 18-year title drought against Racing, and the 86,000 spectators who attended Copa Libertadores finals in 1986 and 1996.

Reader's Guide

The stadium is located in the Belgrano neighbourhood of Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is the home of River Plate and the Argentina national football team. It has hosted the 1978 FIFA World Cup Final, four Copa América finals (most recently 2011), many Copa Libertadores finals, and the 1951 Pan American Games. It also hosts rugby union test matches featuring the Argentina national rugby union team, Los Pumas, and concerts by international artists.

Did You Know?

• The stadium was originally designed with four double decker stands but was left with a horseshoe shape due to insufficient funds.
• The horseshoe was partially enclosed in 1958, financed by the transfer of Omar Sivori to Juventus, increasing capacity to 90,000.
• San Lorenzo brought more than 70,000 people to River's stadium in a 1982 second division match against Tigre.
• In 1993, Argentina lost 5–0 to Colombia at this stadium, its greatest ever defeat at home.
• The total length of the seating in the stands is over 70 kilometers.