A video circulated on social media this Wednesday shows the total state of ruin of the Jesús Suárez Gayol stadium, located in the municipality of Mariel, Artemisa province. Former users recall it as one of the best facilities in the western region.
The images show a court overgrown with weeds, without stands and practically unrecognizable. "It is completely in ruins. This place is super abandoned, deteriorated. I know the change is stark," describes Yodaisy Álvarez, the author of the video, as she walks through the area.
The stadium was built between 1970 and 1982 and came to have artificial lighting, a cafeteria, dormitory, and a drainage system that, according to neighbors, allowed games to resume just a few minutes after heavy downpours.
The Jesús Suárez Gayol was the venue for national baseball series and a stage for the training of athletes. Among its talents was the pitcher Miguel Alfredo González, born in Mariel, who made it to the Major Leagues with the Philadelphia Phillies in 2014.
The comments posted alongside the video reflected a mix of nostalgia and indignation from former users. "It was a place where I and many friends spent a lot of time playing baseball, running, canoeing, and sailing. It was a place full of life. What a shame," wrote one user.
Another described the deterioration as "a crime" and recalled that table tennis was even played at the facility. Other commentators also mentioned chess and athletics, noting that the stadium was in very good condition over 35 years ago.
The responsibility of the authorities was also pointed out directly. "The authorities at the municipal, provincial, and national levels don't care about this, and this is how they want baseball to succeed in Cuba," wrote another neighbor.
"It's not easy to see how our stadium, a source of pride for the people of Mariel, is today completely destroyed. That's just how things are in this country, where no one seems to care about the destruction of everything that once brought us joy," a neighbor summarized in the comments.
Restoration efforts began in 2012, but were unsuccessful. Hurricane Rafael, which struck Cuba in November 2024 and caused the most damage in Artemisa, further worsened the condition of the facility. By 2025, the stands had completely disappeared.
The abandonment of Suárez Gayol adds to the deterioration of other sports facilities in Cuba. Data from 2023 indicated that more than half of the sports areas in the country were in poor condition.
The San José de las Lajas Multipurpose Hall, inaugurated in 1981 as the first of its kind in Latin America, is also in complete ruin, while the Raúl Díaz Argüelles Sports Complex, built for the 1991 Pan American Games, has accumulated rust and weeds after more than three decades without institutional maintenance.
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