Estadio Carlos Salazar Hijo

14°31′54″N 91°30′33″W / 14.53167°N 91.50917°W / 14.53167; -91.50917Capacity10,000Field size104 x 74 mSurfaceGrassConstructionBroke ground1965OpenedNovember 24, 1966 (1966-11-24)Construction costQ. 8,000,000TenantsCD Suchitepéquez
Comunicaciones F.C. (2023)

The Estadio Carlos Salazar Hijo is a football stadium in Mazatenango, Guatemala, home to one of the most traditional first division clubs in the country, Deportivo Suchitepéquez (los venados). It has a capacity of 10,000 (formerly 12,000) and it is situated in the neighbourhood of Santa Cristina.

The stadium was opened on 24 November 1966 and its cost was Q. 8,000,000. It was named after Carlos Salazar Jr. a local sports commentator who organized a radiothon to fund its construction. It was the first stadium in the country, outside of Guatemala City, to have lighting.^[1]

On 2 October 1983 Deportivo Suchitepéquez won the national league title at the stadium by beating Antigua GFC 4–1.^[2]

In 2000 it was approved by FIFA to host World Cup qualification matches.^[3] The Guatemala national team played its first official game at the stadium on 16 July 2000 against the United States during the semifinal round of the 2002 World Cup qualifying. Later that year, Guatemala's last match of the round was played at the Carlos Salazar, where the host team beat Costa Rica 2-1 and forced a playoff between the two teams.

In 2007 it hosted one of the two national league final matches, between Suchitepéquez and C.D. Jalapa.^[1]

References

^ ^a ^b "Apuestan en todo por el todo" (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2012-11-28. Retrieved 2012-01-15.
^ "Deportivo Suchitepéquez - Deportes, Guatemala".
^ "Noticias de deportes en Costa Rica".