Many did not place La Palma on the map until the eruption of the Cumbre Vieja volcano in 2021. They call it ‘the beautiful island’ for the number of hidden treasures, mainly natural, that it houses among the more than 700 kilometers of surface area that it holds. Barely known, one of these treasures is the football stadium of the modest second-tier club RFEF Messenger, considered by many specialized publications as one of the ten most curious and beautiful fields in the world.
He Silvestre Carrillo stadium It was inaugurated in 1977 and remodeled during the first decade of the 21st century to build a commercial and office area on the ground floor, reopening in 2007. The stadium draws attention for being located at the top of a commercial building located next to the cliff of a ravine and its views are simply spectacular.
El Messengero was founded in 1939, beginning to play its matches at home in the Bajamar Fieldowned by SD Tenisca. Due to the limitation in the hours of use of the stadium and other circumstances, in 1973 it was decided to acquire a land located in the Barranco de Los Dolores in Santa Cruz de La Palma for the construction of the field. The club, which receives significant financial support to carry out the work, decides to name the future stadium Silvestre Carrillo, in honor of the partner who helped transfer the land for the construction of the course. The surface of the field would be dirt until 1994, when natural grass was planted.
The Silvestre Carrillo Stadium is locatedor in the urbanized channel of the Barranco de Los Dolores, from where the Avenida de El Puente starts in the palm capital. The south side of the field, where the changing rooms are located, is sheltered by the cliff of the ravine, with access to the stadium located on the other side. The east and west ends are those that concentrate the majority of the field’s capacity. Taking advantage of the slope of the ravine bed with respect to the playing field, a building has been built whose number of floors increases as the ravine goes down. After the 2007 remodeling, The playing field is located on the roof of said office building.
The return of CD Messenger to Second Division B led to the stadium acquiring a certain popularity and several specialized portals began to include it as one of the ten most curious stadiums in the world. With more than 400 members, it is the most important football club on the Island of La Palma and Its stadium has a capacity for 5,000 fans.
Next to this sporting jewel of La Palma, there are other legendary stadiums in the world and some outstanding curiosities. such as the Olympic Stadium in Munich (the historic one with its transparent cover), Igraliste de Babaria in Trogir-Croatia (with a World Heritage monument next to the corner), Mmabatho Stadium in Mafikeng-South Africa (stair sections created by Russian architects) or the Marina Bay in Singapore (over the water).
