Patricio López: «We’re the only club nationwide with two water pitches»

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Radio Gol

·8 September 2026

Patricio López: «We’re the only club nationwide with two water pitches»

The president of the Santa Fe Hockey Association provided details on the infrastructure work carried out and the huge excitement surrounding the arrival of Las Leonas and Los Leones in the city.

The city of Santa Fe is experiencing hours of tremendous sporting excitement ahead of the start of the South American Games and the eagerly awaited visit of the national field hockey teams, Las Leonas and Los Leones. The presence of seven of the recent world champions and the Olympic bronze medalists has sparked a true revolution in the local sports community.

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To prepare the Santa Fe Hockey Association (ASH) grounds, major renovations were carried out, marking a milestone for the sport in the region. The improvements included a complete renovation of the locker rooms, upgrades to the lighting system, and a strategic investment in the playing surfaces. On Field 1, a new water-based synthetic turf approved for international tournaments was installed, while the old surface was moved to Field 2 after groundworks and a shock-absorbing base were completed.

Regarding these improvements at the venue, ASH president Patricio López highlighted the significance of the work done:

“As things stand today, we have the peace of mind of having two water-based pitches on the same grounds, side by side, and at the association level we are the only association in the country that has that.”

Double friendly matchday and the official debut

As a prelude to the official tournament, this Friday the ASH grounds will host an unmissable day of exhibition matches against the province’s senior representative teams. At 7:00 p.m., Las Leonas will face the ASH women’s team, while at 9:00 p.m. Los Leones will take the field against the Santa Fe men’s side.

The response from fans has been immediate since ticket sales opened. Speaking about turnout and revenue, López said:

“Sales opened yesterday at eight at night and we’ve already sold more than a thousand tickets… it’s revenue that helps the association, and as soon as those funds come in, we put them back into the grounds: we’ll improve the stands, the lighting on field two, and a lot of other things we’re still lacking.”

Starting next week, the official South American Games competition will begin, and tickets for Las Leonas’ debut on Monday are practically sold out. In addition to the ASH grounds, the field at Club El Quillá was also fully refurbished to serve as a training center for the visiting delegations.

López concluded by stressing the impact this 15-day event will have on the entire community:

“Let’s also take the opportunity to enjoy other sports that we may not be so used to following. Let’s trust that this is going to be a 15-day tournament, a tremendously important event for the city of Santa Fe.”

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.