The colossal Santa Cruz Cacique Diria Stadium, which was built 20 years ago, already needed an investment: more than ¢65 million ($123,800) to remodel the dressing rooms, bathrooms, benches, athletic track and evacuation routes.
Through a loan from Banco Nacional, the Santa Cruz Cantonal Sports Committee managed to resurface the athletic track, which was cracked and in poor condition. They also built new dressing rooms with special toilets for the disabled and seats with armrests on the benches.
The yellow lines of the evacuation routes were painted and a synthetic soccer 7 field was installed in order to have space for more trainings.
According to Francisco Cascante, member of the Santa Cruz Sports Committee, the work was done by an athletic surfaces company called Proal Superficies Deportivas de Costa Rica S.A., to encourage sports in the canton.
“At 4:30 a.m., we open the stadium for people who want to do sports before going to work. Their cars are protected since there is a security guard on duty 24 hours a day. The facilities close at 7 p.m. This stadium has been the home field for the teams Linafa (National Amateur Soccer League), second division and women’s soccer,” said Cascante.
Cascante explained that maintenance of the stadium turf is continuous, with grass cutting and irrigation helping to prevent deterioration.
The stadium is used by teams from Linafa, the second division of the Cartagena Sports Association and women’s teams like Fusion Santa Cruz FC for official games and training, while the track is used by more than 100 people daily who come to exercise.
The Cacique Diria Stadium was built in 1994 to host the National Athletic Games that were held in the city of Santa Cruz. At the time, the property was managed by the municipality, but now it is overseen by the Cantonal Sports Committee.
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