The stadium was the main football venue during the 1900s and 1910s, having held matches of the Argentina national team and some club matches during that period. The football team of the club (that played in Primera División from 1911 to 1917) also used the stadium for its home games. After the arson of 1916, the stadium was for a time used mainly for rugby union matches. Nowadays, Estadio GEBA is used for music concerts, having hosted many artists performing there.[4]
History
The stadium the day it was inaugurated, 1902
During its first years of existence, the club used facilities such as Sociedad Rural Argentina's venue in Palermo, where athletics competition were held. In 1900 the Municipality of Buenos Aires gave in concession to the club a land that had been used by the Buenos Aires and Rosario Railway (BA&RR). On 12 October 1902, Gimnasia y Esgrima inaugurated its field, built on that land. The field was also known as "Maldonado" due to its proximity to the homonymous stream.[5]
The football team of the club affiliated to the Association (AFA) in 1906, promoting to Primera División in 1910. The stadium was a frequent venue for the squad during its years in Primera, from 1911 to 1917, the year the club disaffiliated from the Association. The GEBA stadium also hosted athletic competitions and rugby union matches, being often used by athletic teams of the University of Buenos Aires.[5]
The Argentina national football team played in GEBA on 13 September 1908, for the Copa Newton v. Uruguay. That match has a historic relevance for being the first time Argentine wore the light blue and white striped jersey, which would be the definitive uniform up to present days.[6] The stadium also hosted the matches where River Plate beat Racing Club by 2–1 before promoting to Primera División for the first time.[7] In 1911, defunct team Alumni played its last game at GEBA on 26 November 1911, when the team beat Porteño by 2–1 winning its 10th. Primera División title.[8] The club would not play any official match again, being dissolved two years later.[9][10]
Due to the small dimensions of the field, spectators often placed under a BA&RR viaduct to watch the matches held in GEBA. The club took advantage of that and built a grandstand just below the viaduct, that was inaugurated in 1909 during a Copa Lipton match between Argentina and Uruguay national teams. Nevertheless, in 1910 the BA&RR dismantled the viaduct to move the tracks. It allowed the club to expand the lateral grandstand of the venue. The stadium was completely refurbished to hold the football matches of "Juegos Deportivos del Centenario", sport competitions in commemoration of the Argentince Centennial. A grandstand was built on the side next to the railway. On the side next to Río de la Plata, another one was built while the official grandstand was located on the Maldonado stream side. It consisted in a two-floor wooden structure, similar to the existing in the Hipódromo Argentino de Palermo.[5] GEBA was also a frecquent venue for Tie Cup, an international football club competition, since 1909.[11]
Alumni v Porteño, 1911 Primera División final at GEBA
The crowd setting fire to the grandstands after the match v. Uruguay was suspended, July 1916
GEBA also hosted all games of the first edition of Copa América, held in Buenos Aires in 1916.[14] The final between Argentina and Uruguay was attended by more than 40,000 spectators that largely exceeded the capacity of the venue, calculated in 10,000. Because of that, the match had to be suspended. In disagreement with the decision, the angry crowd set fire to the stadium. The match had to be reprogrammed for the next day in the Racing Club stadium. The arson caused a large inactivity for the venue, which would not be reopened until 1918. The club did not rebuilt the fired grandstands, replacing them with a running track[5]
The Argentina national team played its last game at GEBA on 19 October 1919, when the squad won the Copa Premier Honor Argentino after thrashing Uruguay by 6–1,[15] During the 1920s, the venue was still one of the biggest in Argentina, hosting some Primera División matches of both associations, AFA and AAmF. A match between AFA and AAmF was played at GEBA on 9 December 1924, as an attempt to reunify both associations, although it would not be carried out until 1926. The attendance was higher than expected, largely surpassing the capacity of the field. That was the last football match held in GEBA.[5]
From 1925 on, the stadium mainly hosted rugby union matches. During 45 years it would be the most frequent venue for that sport, with the Argentina national team playing there its international games. In 1927, the stadium hosted its first international rugby match when Argentina played v the British Isles during their second visit to the country.[16][17][18]
Argentina v British Lions at GEBA, 1936
In the middle 1930s, the stadium was completely refurbished, building new concrete grandstands. Once more, GEBA hosted an international rugby game when Argentina played v the British Lions during their third tour on the country in 1936.[19]
Since 1970, the Argentina national rugby team started using larger stadiums,[22] such as Ferro Carril Oeste (1970–85)[23] or Vélez Sársfield (since 1986).[24] Nevertheless, the Estadio GEBA would continue hosting rugby union matches on some occasions, such as the 1993 South American Championship[25] and some friendly matches that same year.[26]
Tenants
Some teams that have played their home matches at Estadio GEBA are:
^GEBA hosted the Alumni v Porteño final, won by Alumni. The game has a historical relevance so it was the last official match of the legendary team, dissolved that same year.[9][27]
^Representative teams were Junior Springboks (1932) and "Gazzelles" (1966).
