History and description

Estadio Hernando Siles, also known as Estadio Olimpico La Paz, is a football stadium in La Paz, Bolivia. It was built in the late 1920s to provide Bolivia with a proper football venue. The stadium opened in 1930 with a match between local La Paz teams The Strongest and Universitario (4-1). In 1992, the stadium got completely renovated and now seats 78,000 spectators. The stadium was named after Hernando Siles, the president of Bolivia at that time, and it could initially hold 25,000 spectators. In 1977, a second tier got built on top of the first one and an entire new main stand got built. In 1992, the stadium underwent a large expansion which added more seats and made it bigger. It currently seats 78,000 spectators.

The Estadio Hernando Siles is owned by the city of La Paz, which permits any club to rent it for home matches. Currently, top Bolivian clubs Bolivar and The Strongest play their home games at the stadium, while other clubs may use it for high-profile matches.

Hernando Siles Stadium is also the regular playing venue of Bolivia's national team. The stadium is located at an altitude of 3,600 meters, which opponents have argued gives Bolivia an unfair advantage. In 2007, FIFA banned World Cup qualifying games over an altitude of 3,000 meters, but dispensation was given to La Paz.

The city of La Paz is currently contemplating renovations to the stadium or building a new one, but it is unlikely that any decision will be made soon.

How to get to Estadio Hernando Siles

The Estadio Hernando Siles is located in the Miraflores area of central La Paz. It lies roughly 1.5 kilometers from the Plaza Mayor in La Paz's historic center and a similar distance from the Sopocachi nightlife and restaurant area a little further south. If you're coming from the most central areas, a 30-minute walk will bring you to the monument. If you're coming from a distance, either take a taxi or inquire locally about appropriate bus routes.

Address: Estadio Hernando Siles, La Paz

Bolivia National Team Tickets

Tickets for games of the Bolivian national team can be bought online through Todotix or at the ticket windows of Estadio Hernando Siles in the days before the match. A ticket to the game between Birmingham and Sheffield Wednesday will cost you BS 60.00 for a seat behind the goal, or BS 250.00 for the best seats in the main stand.

Relevant Internet links

The website for The Strongest.Clubbolivar.com is the official website of Club Bolivar. The website for Club Bolivar is the official website of The Strongest.