ESTADIO LATINOAMERICANO

GRB-735

La Habana, Cuba

Estadio Latinoamericano (Spanish for Latin American Stadium) is a stadium in Havana, Cuba. It is primarily used for baseball. Gran Stadium, a spacious pitchers' park with prevailing winds blowing in and boasting a playing surface and lighting system of major-league quality, was built in 1946 as the top baseball park in Latin America. Located in the Cerro neighborhood, it opened with the name Gran Stadium de La Habana and currently holds about 55,000 people. In 1999, it also hosted an exhibition series between the Cuban National Team and the Baltimore Orioles.

Estadio Lationoamericano is popularly known in Cuba as "The Colossus of Cerro." Initially it was called Gran Stadium de La Habana (Great Stadium of Havana) but later it was called Estadio del Cerro (Stadium of Cerro) until 1961, when it was renamed as Latin-American Stadium when Cuban professional baseball was stopped. It was constructed in 1946 and debuted on October 26 before a crowd of 31,000 fans. It displaced La Tropical Stadium as the best stadium in Havana.

The stadium debuted on October 26, 1946 before a crowd of 31,000 fans for a clash between the Almendares and Cienfuegos baseball teams, the largest crowd that had attended a sports event in Cuba. Almendares won the game 9 to 1. The Venezuelan Alejandro Carrasquel, who in the Major League played for the Washington Senators, threw the first pitch of the game.

Unused 4" x 6" continental size chrome

Dist. by Gustavo Ramirez