Estadio Nacional Chelato Uclés, National football stadium in Tegucigalpa, Honduras
The Estadio Nacional Chelato Uclés is a multi-purpose stadium in the Barrio Morazán of Tegucigalpa. Its circular structure is divided into four seating areas: popular (sun), preferential (shade), chair, and box sections, plus broadcast booths. The curved grandstand has stepped tiers of white and light-blue seats, with the blue forming diagonal bands, and a dark paved apron at field level. Capacity is 34,000.
The venue opened in 1948 with a baseball match between Honduras and Cuba, later becoming the country's primary football stadium. This beginning led to its role as a central location for major national sporting events.
The stadium is named after José de la Paz Herrera Uclés, known as "Chelato" Uclés, the coach who took Honduras to its first World Cup. The National Congress approved the renaming on 9 March 2022, a year after his death, and it was published in La Gaceta on 16 February 2022. Fans still call it simply the Estadio Nacional.
The stadium sits in Barrio Morazán, and the stand in the photograph curves around the pitch with the hillside rising behind it. The north end is being rebuilt with a roof and 5,000 seats, with competition estimated for late 2025, so parts of the ground may be closed off. The playing surface is hybrid grass installed by 2023.
The giant screen was first switched on 8 February 2009, donated by the mobile phone company Tigo at a cost of 544,096 US dollars. It measures 15 metres by 10 metres, weighs about 2,041 kg and was built in blocks by Hi Tech Electronics so that sections can be replaced.
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