Nearly 800 members voted for the remodeling project / EL DIA
In the midst of a tense climate, Gimnasia members voted in an Extraordinary Assembly for Project 65 of the National Ideas Contest for the expansion and modernization of the Juan Carmelo Zerillo stadium, led by Marcela Orcaje and Gonzalo Pérez. There was criticism of the Board of Directors and some reproaches: “Let everyone go,” it sounded inside the 4th Street Headquarters.
Without a doubt, the context was not the best for the vote, after the culmination of a complicated year for Lobo in terms of football. With the presence of almost 800 members, discomfort was expressed about the institutional and football present.
In the first instance, the assembly began late, since although the doors opened at 6:00 p.m., it began around 7:35 p.m. At the time of reading the minutes by the CD headed by Mariano Cowen, there were whistles from those inside the Sports Center.
At the same time, there were members who continued to line up to enter. Upon noticing the beginning of the Assembly, they began to complain and insult. “Let us in, sons of bitches.”, were some of the words expressed by those delayed in entering.
In the first instance, it was those in charge of the project 65 who began to explain its characteristics. However, upon seeing that not all the people had entered, they decided to wait a few minutes for everyone to be present and then begin the explanation. Around 7:53 p.m., all members were able to enter the Sports Center, so that the explanation of the projects could begin.
After 65, 68 and 101 detailed the characteristics, several partners spoke. There, the Assembly took temperature. since the reproaches against the CD began. In the first instance, the general complaint was the context in which it was decided to hold the vote, after the bad football year that Gimnasia had. There were whistles for the leaders and “Let them all go” sounded. When speaking, one of the partners said: “As a gymnast it is a dream to renovate the stadium and we are happy about that. But it was not the time to treat it. We want to take the opportunity to give us answers to the assembly that we requested almost a year ago. Gymnastics suffers and our members’ blood boils. We are passionate. How do they expect us to all sit around clapping happily and go home. We waited almost two hours in line when we entered. Gymnastics has to change in every sense. I ask that you give us answers.”
Furthermore, two partners almost fell out after an exchange of words in the middle of the Assembly. They had to be separated and after a short period, everything continued as normal. “Please, we can’t fight among ourselves,” stressed those who tried to separate.
After expressing their criticism, voting began by show of hands to choose the winner. In the first instance, project 68 was rejected, since it was the one that received the fewest votes. And in the second instance, where 65 and 101 came as finalists, the first was the winner after almost two hours of Extraordinary Assembly.
THE PROJECT 65
It is headed by Marcela Orcaje and Gonzalo Pérez, responsible for “OP Arquitectos”, the studio that shaped it.
The Juan Carmelo Zerillo remodeling project includes a stadium with capacity for 55,244 spectators. “It is a stadium designed from the ground up that, in stages, will reach that capacity,” Gonzalo Pérez said at the time. “The importance of our project has to do with two important decisions: one of them is related to capacity. In the bases it was requested that it had to be between 40,000 and 50,000, so it had to be assumed that the stadium changed scale. And that defines the other decision, because Gimnasia puts a number of activities that currently operate in the Sports Center into competition. “There are a lot of square meters,” he added.
On the other hand, the main axis of the project is not to steal space from the Forest: “We wanted to give it back that green. So, when the new volume of the stadium appeared and that new piece that is added to the other sporting activities, we thought about putting it under that fold,” highlighted Marcela Orcaje.
Furthermore, the project’s axis is to place a roof: “It rises from the ground from the corner of Av. 60 and Centenario, that’s why we call it a fold. Conceptually, it is as if the ground folded and everything that surrounds the stadium appears underneath. It is like a green cape, a landscape building and the nice thing is that you can walk on top of that roof,” they added.
