New National Stadium To
Have Only 400 Parking
Spaces For 35.000 Fans
The Estadio Ricardo
Saprissa stadium,
followed by the Estadio
Alejandro Morera Soto,
home of La Liga, are a
perfect example of poor
planning of a stadium,
especially when it comes
to parking, where there
only parking is provided
by adjoining land owners
who offer their porches
and lawns for high
prices.
The new Estadio Nacional
(nacional stadium) that
will soon rise over the
land that housed the old
Estadio Nacional for
decades, will be no
different, as only a few
hundred visitors who
arrive real early will
be able to park their
cars in the stadium lot.
The new stadium is
expected to hold 35.175
people, but will have
room for only 400
vehicles in the parking
lot.
The old stadium that was
inaugurated in 1924
(torn down this year to
make way for the new
stadium) with a capacity
of only 13.400 people,
had only 390 parking
spaces. That stadium was
built at a time when
there were few vehicles
in Costa Rica.
Osvaldo Pandolfo,
president of the
Instituto Costarricense
del Deporte (Icoder),
explained that in the
beginning plans included
the building of
underground parking, but
the cost of us$10
million dollar for every
level of underground
parking made it
economically unfeasible.
The new stadium, which
construction is expected
to begin soon, cost will
come in at around us$70
million. Adding the
underground parking
would be adding to the
final cost.
Pandolfo assures that
the La Sabana park will
not be converted into
one giant parking lot.
Visitors to the stadium
will not be permitted to
park in the green areas
of the park and will
have to find parking
offsite or use public
transportation to get to
the stadium. Pandolfo
assures also that there
will be no major traffic
congestion during events
at the stadium.
Justifying the decision
to have only fee parking
spots is Olman Vargas,
director of the Colegio
Federado de Ingenieros y
de Arquitectos
(Federation of Engineers
and Arquitects), saying
that stadiums in other
cities have been built
with remote parking,
some parking lots being
as far a 1 kilometre
from the stadium, where
people then walk from
their cars.
However, this is Costa
Rica and Costa Ricans
aren't used to walking
more than a few feet
from their cars to get
to their destination.
Evidence of this is
clear at the Saprissa or
Soto stadiums and any
shopping centre parking
lot, like Multiplaza in
Escazú, on Sundays.
Another supporter of the
few parking spaces is
Eduardo Brenes, director
del Programa de
Reordenamiento Urbano de
la Gran Área
Metropolitana (Prugam) -
Program of Urban
Rearrangement of the
Great Metropolitan Area
- who considers
appropriate that the new
stadium has the capacity
for only a few cars.
Brenes added that there
is a study underway by
the Icoder and jointly
with the Ministerio de
Obras Públicas y
Transportes (MOPT) to
define the
transportation needs of
the stadium. The study
is expected to be ready
in a couple of months.
One of the options that
is being considered,
according to Brenes, is
using the train service
to move people to and
from the stadium during
events.
The commuter train line
that runs along the
southern edge of the
Sabana Park now only
runs during morning and
afternoon rush hours and
used also by weekend
sightseeing tour train,
can be used during
stadium events to move
people to and from the
stadium, leaving their
cars at home.
Brenes added that bus
service is another
option, as more buses
can be added to the
Estadio bus route during
events and possible the
use of special events
buses to take people to
and from the stadium
from defined points.
One group that is
looking to take
advantage of the lack of
parking at the new
stadium is the Instituto
Costarricense de
Electricidad (ICE),
which has parking for
more tha 500 cars
available on its lots on
the north edge of the
Sabana Park and across
from the new stadium.
ICE official, Elberth
Durán, voiced that the
institution will be
realizing a feasibility
study to build more
parking spaces on its
current lot, possibly a
second level parking
area.
Other area land owners
have yet to express an
interest. However, given
the current situation at
the Saprissa and Soto,
especially during
futball (soccer) games,
the situation at the
reality at the new
stadium may not be much
different. |
