Left Field – 325 ft (99 m) Left-Center – 375 ft (114 m) Center Field – 404 ft (123 m) Right-Center – 375 ft (114 m) Right Field – 325 ft (99 m) Backstop – 60 ft (18 m)
The stadium has approximately 18,000 seats. The stadium is 325 feet (99 m) down the left-field line, 325 feet (99 m) down the right-field line and 404 feet (123 m) to center field. The fences are 8 feet (2.5 m) high. When the Expos played home games at Hiram Bithorn, the field dimensions were set to match Olympic Stadium in Montreal.[3]
In the mid-1990s Hiram Bithorn Stadium was planned to be the home of the yet-to-be-named Puerto Rico team, a charter franchise of the United League (UL) which was a planned third league of Major League Baseball (MLB).
The stadium hosted Major League Baseball's Opening Day Game in 2001, in which the Toronto Blue Jays faced the Texas Rangers in an American League match-up.[4] However, 4,000 who bought tickets were turned away when the police determined the safe capacity of the park had been vastly exceeded.
It was the object of a major overhaul under the mayoral administration of Jorge Santini, before becoming the part-time home of the Montreal Expos of the National League in 2003 and 2004 before their move to Washington, D.C. as the Washington Nationals. The Expos played 20 "home" games across the two seasons as a result of poor attendance at their home Olympic Stadium in Montreal. Before Major League Baseball's announcement of the Montreal Expos' move to Washington, Puerto Rico and San Juan made an effort to lure the Expos franchise to the island territory permanently.
In 2010, Major League Baseball returned to the stadium, as the Florida Marlins faced the New York Mets in a three-game series during the regular season.[5]
The Marlins were to play the Pittsburgh Pirates on May 30 and 31, 2016 in honor of Roberto Clemente Day. However, on May 6, 2016, it was announced that the Puerto Rico games would be postponed due to the Zika virus outbreak, and moved to Marlins Park.[6]
The Cleveland Indians and Minnesota Twins played a two-game series at Hiram Bithorn Stadium on April 17 and 18, 2018.[7] It is the first time since 2010 that a Major League Baseball regular-season game was played in Puerto Rico. Furthermore, the league announced in August 2019 that they would be returning for a three-game series in April 2020 between the Miami Marlins and New York Mets.[8] This series was later cancelled as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.[9]
View of the stadium during a baseball game in 2010
There have been, as of June 2020, 71 professional boxing events that have been held at the stadium, including many world championship fights.[10] Two-time World Lightweight Champion Carlos Ortíz won four Lightweight title bouts in the stadium, regaining his championship from Ismael Laguna in 1965 and retaining it against Doug Valiant in 1963, Kenny Lane in 1964, and Sugar Ramos in 1967. Also, former world heavyweight champion Floyd Patterson fought there late in his career.[11]
Other uses
Along with sporting events, the stadium has hosted concerts by many famous artists.
Metallica were scheduled to perform during their Nowhere Else to Roam Tour on April 28, 1993, but it was rained out and never rescheduled.
On March 10, 11, and 12 of 2023, the Colombian singer Karol G performed three special shows at the stadium, in support of her 2023 album Mañana Será Bonito. Special guests included Bad Gyal, Feid, Maldy, Romeo Santos, and Sean Paul.
Some of the concerts that have been held at the venue:
^Vargas FAIA, Benjamin, ed. (2014). La Vereda Tropical / Down Where the Trade Winds Blow (in Spanish and English). San Juan, PR: AIA. ISBN9780692324301.
