Francisco Montaner Stadium
| Parque Paquito Montaner | |
Main entrance to the Francisco Montaner Stadium
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| Location | Ponce, Puerto Rico |
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| Owner | Municipality of Ponce |
| Operator | Municipality of Ponce |
| Capacity | 16,000 |
| Surface | Modular artificial turf |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | 1947 |
| Opened | October 15, 1949 |
| Tenants | |
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FC Leones (PRSL) (current) Leones de Ponce (LBPPR) (current) River Plate Ponce (former) Leones de Ponce (basketball)) (1950-1971) |
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The Estadio Francisco ("Paquito") Montaner (English: Francisco ("Paquito") Montaner Stadium) is a multi-use stadium in Ponce, Puerto Rico. It is home to the Leones de Ponce team of the Puerto Rico Baseball League (LBPPR) and FC Leones of the Puerto Rico Soccer League (PRSL). The stadium has a capacity of 16,000 seats. Construction of the stadium began in 1947 and it opened on October 15, 1949. Montaner has the distinction of being the first stadium in Puerto Rico that installed an artificial surface field. The stadium lies next to the Juan Pachín Vicéns Auditorium, where the Ponce Lions (basketball) hold their games. The Stadium was named to honor Francisco "Paquito" Montaner, one of the greatest Puerto Rican pitchers of all times.
While baseball had been practiced in the city prior to this, baseball in Ponce started in earnest upon the arrival of the Americans to the island after the Spanish American War of 1898. The first non-professional baseball leagues played at Campo Atlético Charles H. Terry. However, after the formation of the Liga de Béisbol Semiprofesional de Puerto Rico (Puerto Rico Semiprofessional Baseball League) in 1938, the sport had mature enough that it became necessary to plan on building a new stadium. This need was further exacerbated on 14 September 1941 when the League became a professional-level league. Construction of the stadium began in 1947 and it opened two years later on October 15, 1949. In addition to baseball, the stadium had other uses. In particular, it was also used for basketball games. These were played on a convertible basketball court that was stowed away when the basket games were over.
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