The José Amalfitani Stadium (also known as Estadio Vélez Sarsfield, nicknamed El Fortín de Liniers) 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 stadium was built between 1941 and 1943 and inaugurated in April 1943 in a friendly match between Vélez Sarsfield and River Plate.El Gráfico #1240. 16 Apr 1943 It was then renovated and enlarged 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 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 concrete stands were 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),Rodolfo D'Onofrio, ex presidente de River, confirmó que se meterá en la política on TyC, 9 Aug 2022 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.Estadio on C.A. Vèlez SarsfieldDe Liniers a Salta, de Pelé a Maradona by Facundo Soukoyan on Página/12 – 2 Jan 2022 José Amalfitani Stadium inaugurated its lighting system in 1969 in a match vs Brazilian Santos FCEl rey en nuestra casa on C.A. Vèlez SarsfieldVélez, con camiseta nueva y varios cambios on Clarín, 11 Apr 2016
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.
DateRoundGroupTeam 1Vs.Team 2June 3 132–1June 7 1–0June 11 1–0
2001 FIFA World Youth Championship DateRoundTeam 1Vs.Team 2 8 July Final3–0
Argentina friendly matches
Date Rival Res. 22 April 1974 2-1 5 May 1982 2-1 23 June 1983 1-0 25 September 1984 1-1 16 December 1987 1-0 13 March 1991 0-0 27 March 1991 3-3 21 December 1994 1-0 10 March 1998 2-0
Rugby union
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.
The José Amalfitani Stadium was the home ground for the Jaguares, an Argentine Super Rugby franchise that ran from 2015 to 2020.
Argentina test matches Date Rival Res. Score 31 May 1986 won 15–13 7 June 1986 lost 9–22 31 October 1987 tie 19–19 7 November 1987 won 27–19 18 June 1988 lost 15–18 25 June 1988 won 18–6 24 June 1989 won 21–16 28 July 1990 won 15–13 4 August 1990 lost 12–25 6 July 1991 lost 14–28 13 July 1991 lost 6–36 4 July 1992 lost 12–27 11 July 1992 lost 9–33 13 June 1998 lost 18–35 20 June 1998 lost 12–37 15 June 2002 won 28–27 22 June 2002 lost 18–26 14 June 2003 won 10–6 20 June 2003 won 33–32 4 December 2004 lost 7–39 5 November 2005 lost 23–34 17 June 2006 won 45–27 24 June 2006 lost 19–25 2 June 2007 won 16–0 14 June 2008 lost 14–26 26 June 2010 won 41–13 15 June 2013 lost 26–51 15 August 2015 lost 12–26 1 October 2016 lost 17–36 30 September 2017 lost 10–36 29 September 2018 lost 17–35 21 July 2019 lost 16–20 23 August 2025 won 29–23 8 August 2026 lost 10–17
Club matches Date Team Score Rival Ref. 14 Jul 1990 Banco Nación Cuando un club venció a una potencia del rugby mundial on La Nación, 12 Jul 2020 10 Oct 1987 San Isidro Club
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.La leyenda de Queen en Argentina, Rolling Stone, 5 Nov 2008 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.Los agitados días de Queen en la Argentina by Matías Bauzo on Infobae, 17 Nov 2018La historia detrás de la foto by Pablo Lisotto, La Nación, 30 Oct 2018
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 12–14, 1993 I'll Sleep When I'm Dead TourLuis MiguelNovember 19, 1993Aries 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 ModeApril 8, 1994Exotic Tour/Summer Tour '94 Whitney Houston April 16 & 17, 1994 The Bodyguard World TourRamonesMay 14, 1994 20th Anniversary TourLuis MiguelNovember 11 & 12, 1994Segundo Romance TourTestamentJune 16, 1995 Low Marilyn Manson September 11, 1997 Dead to the World TourLuis MiguelNovember 14–16, 1997Romances Tour Iron Maiden December 12, 1998 Virtual XI World TourLuis MiguelNovember 5–7, 1999Amarte 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 TourRoger Waters March 7, 2002 In the Flesh TourLuis MiguelNovember 24 and 25, 2002Mis Romances TourLuis MiguelDecember 5–7 200333 Tour Iron Maiden January 11, 2004 Dance of Death World TourLuis MiguelNovember 10–12, 2005México 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 TourLuis MiguelNovember 27–30, 2008Cómplices 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 TourLuis MiguelNovember 25–28, 2010Luis Miguel Tour Iron Maiden April 8, 2011 The Final Frontier World TourRod Stewart October 22, 2011 Heart & Soul TourElton John March 2, 2013 40th Anniversary of the Rocket ManNickelback September 26, 2013 Here and Now TourBon Jovi September 26, 2013 Because We Can: The TourStevie 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 TourChayanne April 25, 2015 En Todo Estaré TourIron Maiden March 15, 2016 The Book of Souls World TourGreen Day November 10, 2017 Revolution Radio TourQueens of the Stone Age March 7, 2018 Villains World TourFoo Fighters March 7, 2018 Concrete and Gold TourShakira October 25, 2018 El Dorado World TourIron Maiden October 12, 2019 Legacy of the Beast World TourBilly Idol September 11, 2022 The Roadside Tour 2022Green Day September 11, 2022 Hella Mega TourLaliMarch 4, 2023 Disciplina TourKarol GApril 26 & 27, 2024Mañana Será Bonito TourLouis Tomlinsonmay 18, 2024Faith in the Future World TourEric ClaptonSeptember 20, 2024Emilia MernesOctober 12, 13, 18 & 19, 2024 .MP3 TourLaliMay 24 & 25, September 6 & 7, December 16, 2025 Lali Tour 2025ShakiraDecember 8, 9 and 11, 2025Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran World Tour
See also
List of football stadiums in Argentina List of association football stadiums by capacity Lists of stadiums
Notes
References
External links