New stadium: New home for La Calera

05.03.2019 05:06 source: StadiumDB.com; author: michał

Though it bears the name of its predecessor, it's a brand new stadium. And quite a beautiful one, too. Unión La Calera is finally playing back at their spiritual home since January.

La Calera was among the cities hit by the 2010 earthquake. This is when, among other facilities, it lost the stadium, built back in 1950. Though erection of the initial ground took just 2 months, building the successor required locals to wait a few years. It wasn't until the end of 2016 that demolition works began, starting the 2-year period of reconstruction.

Estadio La Calera © Ministerio de Obras Públicas Chile

Historical capacity of the stadium stood at around 10,000 people, though record high of 16,000 is listed in the books. For the new ground a similar size of 9,000+ people was chosen, this time all-seated. But the ground's layout changed entirely. First, the field was rotated by 90 degrees to match the north-sout axis. Second, the running track was scrapped.

The resulting stadium is somewhat unique in footprint. It would have been an oval if not for the cut north end, where a street runs. Fans are seated on three sides, leaving the north semi open, revealing dramatic landscape as background for the giant screen.

Along the sides two tiers of seating were created and in the west stand as many as 4 levels of facilities are hidden. Both the east and west sides are covered by arch-shaped canopies, while the interior is protected by perforated aluminium facades. In total the stadium consumed nearly CLP 12.66 billion (or $19.2m upon opening), including new leisure areas in direct vicinity.

Its naming is an interesting fact. Nicolás Chahuán Nazar was a community leader whose efforts helped establish Unión La Calera in the first place. He proceeded to become the team's president until a fatal game in 1988. When the referee awarded a penalty in the last minute, Nazar suffered from a heart attack and was beyond saving. From that year onwards the stadium had borne his name and this hasn't changed after construction of the new one.