Estadio Jocay

Manta calls it Jocay. It opened in 1962 as Estadio Modelo de Manta, and the ground it stands on now — the corner of Avenida 113 and Calle 307 — has been rebuilt in three separate passes since, each one for a different reason.

The first came between 2002 and 2004, when the old main stand was pulled down entirely and replaced by the Jaime Estrada Bonilla grandstand, reopened in March 2004. The second, in 2013 and 2014, added a 5,000-seat southern terrace with backing from Ecuador's sports ministry. The third was forced on the stadium rather than chosen: the earthquake of 16 April 2016 left the old stand structurally unsafe, and it came down. What replaced it, a 6,273-seat bandeja finished in 2019 and inaugurated in November 2020, cost close to seven million dollars, most of it from Ecuador's development bank, and was built specifically to meet CONMEBOL's requirements.

The stadium earned that outlay almost immediately. Delfín SC, the club that calls Jocay home alongside Manta FC, played out the 2019 domestic final there — a goalless draw with LDU Quito settled on penalties — and Manaby province had its first national champion. Delfín kept the ground busy in the Copa Libertadores through 2020, hosting Olimpia, Santos and, in the round of sixteen, Palmeiras.

Outside football, Jocay has doubled as a concert ground: Ricardo Arjona played there in August 2014, and a salsa-and-reggaetón bill drew thousands in 2010. There is no dedicated stadium website; the Manta municipality runs it directly.