Gimnasio Fiscal

The Gimnasio Fiscal in Ancud does not look like a stadium. It sits between a town and the sea on Chiloé Island, a place where the wind carries salt and the rain can soak through anyone standing outside. The building opens onto a wooden parquet floor, the sort of surface that makes a basketball game feel different from the ones played on concrete or asphalt. The court is surrounded by low stands that hold 2,500 people, and there is a running track around the edge of the pitch, though the main action here is indoors.

ABA Ancud plays its matches here, a side that has carried the weight of a small town through the Liga Nacional de Básquetbol (LNB). The team does not have a private arena; it shares the space with local handball groups and schoolchildren who use the courts after the evening games. The venue is a public building, one of a network of facilities built by the state to serve communities that do not have the money for private stadiums. The roof is simple, the walls are painted in colours that have faded over time, and the lighting is not designed for television broadcasts but for people who want to watch a game without paying for a seat.

There is a swimming pool outside, which was recently re-opened with new porcelain tiling, and an athletics field for throwing events. The complex includes ramps for disabled access and changing rooms that are used by everyone. In December 2024, the local council approved a name change to honour Luis 'Caco' Suárez, a former player who represented Chile in his day. The sign above the entrance still reads Gimnasio Fiscal, but the official records now carry the new title. The building has been renovated several times, most recently in 2012 when the floor was replaced and the roof was repaired after years of leaking. The next project, announced in 2024, will see the parquet floor replaced again, this time with a system designed to last longer. The town does not talk much about football, but it knows how to value a place where its young men and women can play without travelling to the mainland.