Madre De Ciudades: The spaceship stadium of Santiago Del Estero

Words: Groundspotters

Images: Groundspotters

We are probably talking about one of the newest and most modern stadiums in Argentina.

Contrary to what many might imagine, it is far away from the big lights of Buenos Aires and does not belong to a big team in the country.

Santiago Del Estero is located in the north-central part of Argentina, belonging to the region known as “Norte Grande Argentino”.

Although the decision to build a stadium in a province with unfavourable economic indicators has generated a great deal of controversy, the government has suggested that this would favour the creation of jobs and attract tourism.

Thus, on 13 April 2018, Gerardo Zamora (governor of Santiago Del Estero) together with Claudio Tapia (president of the Argentine Football Association -AFA-) presented the project of the future new stadium for the province: Estadio Único Madre De Ciudades.

©Groundspotters/ Terrace Edition. Madre De Ciudades. Argentina.

Its name is a tribute to the city of Santiago Del Estero itself (capital of the province), founded on 25 July 1553 and called ‘Madre De Ciudades’ (Mother of Cities) because it was from here that the Spanish expeditions to found metropolises such as San Miguel de Tucumán, Córdoba, Salta, La Rioja, San Fernando del Valle de Catamarca and San Salvador de Jujuy departed.

The construction of the stadium began in June 2018 and took approximately two years.

Although late, mainly due to the covid-19 pandemic, it was inaugurated on 4 March 2021 with an official ceremony (attended by the President of the Nation and the Governor of Santiago Del Estero, among other national and provincial officials) prior to the game that would award the 2019 Argentine Super Cup, in which River Plate humiliated Racing Club with a resounding 5-0 victory.

It was only on October 3 that Estadio Único Madre De Ciudades hosted its first game with spectators on the terraces. With strict sanitary and safety protocols, there were 15,000 lucky people who inaugurated the seats for the game between Club Atlético Mitre and Quilmes, for the 28th match-day of the second division of Argentine football.

Madre De Ciudades is a cylindrical stadium with a capacity of 30,000 people with the possibility to extend to 45,000 spectators. It has VIP areas and covered parking under the stands that can accommodate 460 vehicles.

The internal facilities include four changing rooms, press rooms, a conference auditorium, two areas for warming-up, an infirmary, fire brigade, police control and everything that supports sporting activity.

The stadium was designed, in compliance with FIFA, CONMEBOL and AFA standards, with a multifunctional vision and can host games, concerts, theatre, meetings and exhibitions.

While there is no team that owns the stadium, as it belongs to the province, Central Córdoba currently plays its home games there.

The Argentina national team played two matches here: an official match against Chile (1-1) in 2021, in the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers, and a friendly match against Curaçao (7-0) in March 2023, as part of celebrations for having lifted the cup in Qatar few months earlier. A significant number of U-20 World Cup 2023 games also took place here.

The stadium facilities include a first class restaurant overlooking the pitch which operates on a daily basis, a state-of-the-art interactive museum and you also have the chance to take a tour.

There are many opportunities to visit the most modern stadium in Argentina, to get to know the Madre De Ciudades.