Opinion: Music vs. Soccer, the Constant Fight for Stadiums in Colombia

For several months, the controversy for doing concerts in stadiums in Colombia has been increasing. This inconvenience generated a gap and a dispute between music lovers and Colombian soccer fans, who commented on their annoyance at the reality of the grasses of the different sports venues in the country.

It is no secret to anyone that concerts held in soccer stadiums generate major inconveniences for the grass of these sports venues. However, over the years and the growth of technology, tools were created to carry out this kind of event without harming the state of the course, an aspect that has not been carried out in the best way in Colombia.

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Before talking about this inconvenience, it should be noted that in Colombia, there is only one professional team that has its own stadium. This is why the rest of the Colombian clubs have to rent their sports venues to the different municipalities, which own them and have full freedom to carry out any type of event.

The real culprit

Leaving this aspect clear, it should be mentioned that the great culprit of this social inconvenience are the mayors' offices. Being the owners of the sports venues, these entities are the ones that have to ensure the care and maintenance of all aspects of these stadiums, which have been in decline for many years.

When holding musical events, each municipality has to provide adequate maintenance security for all fields, so that the sporting events are not affected by external entities. This is why, with the constant concerts carried out in the country, the use of tools is being requested to avoid further damage to this fundamental part of soccer.

Likewise, the municipalities have to evaluate the amount of money they earn by renting the sports venues and what they have to pay afterwards so that the state of the grass of the stadiums can be recovered. This is why, for several weeks, businessmen who lease stadiums in Colombia for musical events have been criticized, since they do not provide the necessary care so that the field does not get damaged.

Calendar problems

Another problem that was generated with the arrival of the constant concerts in the country is the sports calendar of many Colombian teams. A few weeks ago, several clubs had to postpone several of their matches due to musical events in their cities, so that at one point in the season these squads have few days off to face all these commitments.

One of the most notorious cases in recent days is that of Millonarios. The Bogotá team will have to face three gamesin less than 4 days. Upon learning of this tight schedule, their coach, Alberto Gamero, charged against the city, making it clear that alternatives must be sought to stop performing more concerts at the Nemesio Camacho 'El Campín' stadium.

In the middle of one of his last press conferences, the coach commented that “We knew that we were going to risk that, there are no more dates here, the problem is the concerts; We have two games postponed due to two concerts, so I think that's what we have to avoid, I'm not going to get involved in that, but we have to find another venue for the concerts and leave 'El Campín' for soccer”.

Music vs. Soccer

With these statements, the debate between music and football lovers heated up again in the middle of social networks, in which all those involved began to launch meaningless expletives. Given this situation, it is confirmed that in Colombia, alternatives are needed to be able to carry out both kinds of events without any inconvenience.

To put an end to this debate, all the fans involved have to be clear that sports venues were not built with a single function. Just as sports practices are carried out, events unrelated to the national sport can be carried out, an aspect that is done without problems in all cities of the world. This is why one should stop looking for which events are more important than others, since stadiums are a privilege for all citizens.

A privilege for all

With this aspect, the solution for this inconvenience is simple. All city halls must have the necessary quality tools to be able to take care of the stadium grasses perfectly, so that football is not affected by these events. Likewise, the civic culture must be implemented, so that all attendees take care of the sports venues and these are not affected by any type of event.

In addition to this, the Dimayor, together with all the municipalities, have to work hand in hand to have clear calendars, with the aim that no soccer team is impacted by the concerts that take place in these sports venues. This is why, by having a basic calendar, dates could be adjusted more easily, with the intention of respecting professional footballers and local fans.

The truth is that music and soccer can coexist without any inconvenience in sports venues, thus ending a meaningless debate that was generated by the disastrous work of the different mayors. Now the ball is in the hands of the local leaders, who must provide high-profile stages for all their fans, to meet the great goal of Colombia becoming an epicenter of major sporting and musical events.