Estadio Quisqueya

History

The stadium was built in 1955 as Estadio Trujillo, during the Rafael Leónidas Trujillo dictatorship, taking the Bobby Maduro Miami Stadium as the design base. It was later renamed after the former Major League Baseball (MLB) player and Baseball Hall of Fame inductee Juan Marichal.

The stadium began the modern era of organized Dominican baseball by introducing the lighting system to its circuit, which is why it is popularly said that it started the "era of games under lights".

The stadium was inaugurated on October 23, 1955, with the first night game between the Tigres del Licey and the Estrellas Orientales.

The first baseball events to occur at the stadium were:

• First hit: Alcibíades Colón (Licey) against Donald Elston (Estrellas), October 23, 1955
• First double: Luis "Grillo" Báez (Licey), October 23, 1955
• First triple: Bob Wilson (Licey), October 23, 1955
• First home run: Emil Panko (Águilas), October 24, 1955
• First out: Pablo Garcia (Licey), October 23, 1955
• First run batted in (RBI): Pablo Garcia (Licey), October 23, 1955

The Caribbean Series (Spanish: Serie del Caribe) has been held at the stadium in: 1972, 1976, 1980, 1988, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2012, 2016 and 2022.

During spring training for the MLB season, two games between the Boston Red Sox and Tampa Bay Rays were scheduled for March 9–10 at the stadium as part of MLB World Tour (MLB games held outside of the United States and Canada). The Red Sox defeated the Rays in both games, by scores of 4–0 and 7–6.

Capacity

Rebuilding projects

In 2007, the stadium underwent a rebuilding job which expanded its number of seats and the overall look of the field. The bullpens are now enclosed and out of play.

Former president Leonel Fernández also announced in 2009 that there were plans to turn the stadium and the adjacent area into a modern sports complex named the Centro Deportivo y Cultural Juan Marichal, in honor of one of the Dominicans in the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame, Juan Marichal.

The construction of a five-star hotel at the end of the central garden that would consist of 150 rooms was also in the pipeline, in addition to a building that would house a casino and a sports museum. Due to the criticism received from many sectors for the way in which the remodeling was going to be financed, the Dominican State announced the suspension of the project.

For the 2010–11 season, the bleacher area was reduced from 9,600 seats to 9,500 to expand the 'AA' boxes from 5,843 to 7,443 seats. For the 2014–15 season it was renewed again and the area of the bleachers was reduced from 9,500 to 8,015 and other areas as well.

The President of the Dominican Republic, Luis Abinader, issued a decree No. 306-25 that creates a consultative commission with the objective of evaluating the feasibility of building a new stadium and a set of works around the Estadio Quisqueya Juan Marichal. The commission will have to report to Luis Abinader on the proposal for a public-private initiative. The order issued by the executive explains that the venue must meet all the requirements to host Major League Baseball (MLB) teams.

Gallery

File:EstadioQuisqueya.jpg File:Estadio quisqueya santo domingo dominican republic 2.jpg File:Estadio quisqueya santo domingo dominican republic 3.jpg

Notable events

Notes

References

References

1. Aish, Wiliam. "Patronato a los fanáticos: El Estadio Quisqueya estará listo el 16 de octubre". elnuevodiario.com.do.
2. "Stadium seating.". licey.com.
3. (2015-03-18). "Senado reconocerá a Pedro Martínez ; entregan gaceta con ley 11-15 a Juan Marichal". El Nacional.
4. Terrero Galarza, Satosky. (2016-02-01). "Nombre y silueta de Juan Marichal ya adornan el estadio Quisqueya". El Caribe.
5. {{usurped
6. "Caribbean Series to begin weeklong competition".
7. "2024 MLB World Tour: Dominican Republic Series".
8. Healy, Emma. (March 6, 2024). "Pedro Martinez and David Ortiz to throw first pitch, and other details about the Red Sox' weekend in the Dominican Republic".
9. Speier, Alex. (March 9, 2024). "Saturday's spring training report: Red Sox shut out Rays in opener in Dominican Republic".
10. Speier, Alex. (March 10, 2024). "Sunday's spring training report: Red Sox finish two-game sweep of Rays in Dominican Republic".
11. "En el mundo".
12. "(image)".
13. "Mana Noticias : Mana en SANTO DOMINGO".
14. (2005-02-15). "Steve Green presentará concierto en el Estadio Quisqueya".
15. (2016-01-19). "Ricky Martin escoge a RD como su primera parada del "One World Tour"".
16. Libre, Diario. (13 June 2008). "Maná cerró gira".
17. (2008-11-13). "Luis Miguel reúne 35 mil cómplices".
18. Rodriguez, Julio C.. "El quisqueya se exploto con Chayanne y Marc Anthony".
19. (23 March 2014). "Alejandro Fernández llena de emoción el Estadio Quisqueya con su "Confidencias Tour" - CDN - el Canal de Noticias de los Dominicanos".
20. Diario, Listin. (2015-06-15). "Euforia con Violetta".
21. Libre, Diario. (16 November 2017). "Ricardo Arjona, confirma su "Circo Soledad" para la República Dominicana".
22. "Bad Bunny ofreció multitudinario concierto en República Dominicana".
23. Diario, Listin. (2022-07-10). "Wisin y Yandel brindaron a RD una noche para la historia con "su última misión"".