Estadio Nacional Julio Martínez Prádanos

Julio Martínez Prádanos National Stadium
Estadio Nacional Julio Martínez Prádanos
El Coloso (The Colossus)
Interior of the stadium.
Former namesEstadio Nacional
(1938–2008)
LocationAv. Grecia 2001, Estadio Nacional Sports Park, Ñuñoa, Santiago, Chile
Coordinates33°27′52″S 70°36′38″W / 33.46444°S 70.61056°W / -33.46444; -70.61056
Public transit at Estadio Nacional
OwnerMunicipality of Ñuñoa
OperatorChiledeportes
Capacity46,190
Record attendance85,268 (Universidad de ChileUniversidad Católica, 29 December 1962)
Field size105 m x 68 m
SurfaceGrass
Construction
Broke ground1937 (1937)
OpenedDecember 3, 1938 (1938-12-03)
Renovated2009–10
Expanded1962
ReopenedSeptember 12, 2010 (2010-09-12)
Construction cost$18,000,000
Architect
  • Ricardo Muller
  • Aníbal Fuentealba
  • Roberto Cormatches
Main contractorsSalinas y Fabres
Tenants
Chile national football team
Universidad de Chile
Palestino
Santiago Morning
Deportes Recoleta
Deportes Melipilla
Real Juventud San Joaquín
Municipal Santiago
Gremio de Santiago
Selknam (rugby club)

Julio Martínez Prádanos National Stadium (Spanish: Estadio Nacional Julio Martínez Prádanos, pronounced [esˈtaðjo nasjoˈnal ˈxuljo maɾˈtines ˈpɾaðanos]; named after Julio Martínez) is an association football stadium in Santiago, Chile. Located in the Ñuñoa commune, it is part of Sports Park National Stadium, a 62 hectare sporting complex which also features tennis courts, an aquatics center, a modern gymnasium, a velodrome, a BMX circuit, and an assistant ground/warmup athletics track.

Construction began in February 1937 and the stadium was inaugurated on December 3, 1938. The architecture was based on the Olympiastadion in Berlin, Germany. The stadium was one of the venues for the FIFA World Cup in 1962, and hosted the final where Brazil defeated Czechoslovakia 3–1. In 1948, the stadium hosted the matches of the South American Championship of Champions, the competition that inspired the creation of the UEFA Champions League and of the Copa Libertadores. The stadium was notoriously used as a mass imprisonment, torture, and extrajudicial execution facility by the Pinochet dictatorship following the 1973 military coup.

In 2009, a complete modernization plan was unveiled for the stadium and surrounding facilities. President Michelle Bachelet said it would become the most modern stadium in South America. A roof above the stands was initially proposed by Bachelet in order to make the stadium an indoor venue, however, this was never completed. The stadium was the opening and closing ceremonies, athletics, and football venue for the 2014 South American Games, and hosted the opening ceremonies and the athletics during the 2023 Pan American Games. The stadium also hosted the opening ceremonies of the 2023 Parapan American Games.