Cilindro Municipal

Indoor arena in Montevideo, Uruguay

34°51′48.25″S 56°9′14.01″W / 34.8634028°S 56.1538917°W / -34.8634028; -56.1538917Capacity18,000ConstructionOpened1956Closed2010Demolished12 May 2014ArchitectLucas Ríos DemaldéStructural engineerAlberto Sydney Miller
Leonel Viera

Cilindro Municipal (The Municipal Cylinder) was an indoor arena in Montevideo, Uruguay, which was opened in 1956, for Uruguay's Industrial Exhibition of the Production of international character. The arena was used as the main venue of the 1967 edition of the FIBA World Cup,^[1] for which it had a seating capacity of 18,000 spectators.^[1]

History

Over the years, many artists performed at the arena, including Bob Dylan, The Mission, UB40, Van Halen, and Molotov. On October 8, 2001, Eric Clapton performed at the arena, during his Reptile World Tour, and drew a crowd of 18,000 fans.^[2]

Fire damage and demolishing

On 21 October 2010, the Cilindro Municipal's roof fell down atop the inside structure because of a fire,^[3] the source of which is unknown.^[4] The fire caused severe damage to the arena's seats. The Uruguayan Interior Minister, Eduardo Bonomi, announced that it would be demolished.

A work group started doing construction studies in the middle of December 2010, and in March 2011, the Intendencia of Montevideo announced that the damaged "Cilindro Municipal" would be replaced by a new "Olympic" stadium, with a cultural, as well as sportive scope of use. Work on the new arena was originally expected to start in 2012, and to last for three years.^[5] The arena was finally demolished successfully on 12 May 2014, and was eventually replaced by the new Antel Arena which opened in November 2018.

References

^ ^a ^b "FIFTH WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP -- 1967". Archived from the original on 2008-09-10. Retrieved 2008-11-03.
^ "Adiós al Cilindro: fue implosionado tal como estaba previsto – Diario La República". La República (in Spanish). Diario La República. 12 May 2014. Retrieved 24 February 2016.
^ "Intendencia analiza futuro del Cilindro | Intendencia de Montevideo". Archived from the original on 2011-06-29. Retrieved 2010-12-09.
^ "Cilindro: Bomberos no encontró evidencias de acto premeditado | Intendencia de Montevideo". Archived from the original on 2011-06-29. Retrieved 2010-12-09.
^ Article of El Pais about the future of the Cilindro.