Fundidora Park (Parque Fundidora in Spanish) is an urban park located in the Mexican city of Monterrey, built in what once were the grounds of the Monterrey Foundry, the first steel and iron foundry in Latin America, and, for many years, the most important one in the region.[4][5]

Fundidora Park
The Old Steel Mill at Fundidora Park
Map
TypeUrban Park
LocationMonterrey, Mexico
Coordinates25°40′41″N 100°17′00″W / 25.67806°N 100.28333°W / 25.67806; -100.28333
Area144 hectares (360 acres)[1]
Created2001[2]
Operated byFideicomiso Fundidora[2]
Visitorsover 8.5 million annually[1]
Open6 a.m. to 10 p.m.[3]

History and location

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Parque Fundidora with steel mill ruins.
 
View of CINTERMEX.

The Parque Fundidora is located inside the grounds formerly occupied by Fundidora Monterrey, a steel foundry company of great importance to the economic development of the city during the 20th century. After its bankruptcy in 1986, Federal and State government showed interest in using the land to create a public park with the aim to preserve its history as well as being a center of culture, business, entertainment and ecological awareness for the people of the city.[2] In 1988 the land was expropriated and the Fideicomiso Fundidora (Fundidora Trust) was created to manage it in an arrangement between the State government and private investment.[2] Construction began in 1989, starting with the preservation of historically important buildings and structures within the foundry and the dismantling of the others, followed by the construction of the CINTERMEX convention center, Plaza Sesamo amusement park, a hotel and a cinematheque. Construction and rehabilitation continued during the rest of the 1990s.[2]

The park opened on February 24, 2001, with an area of 114 hectares (280 acres), receiving the additional name of Museum of Industrial Archaeology Site. In 2010 the Paseo Santa Lucía development, consisting of a 2.35 kilometres (1.46 mi) artificial river and accompanying river-walk, is incorporated to the park bringing it into its current state, with a total area of 144 hectares (360 acres), 80 hectares (200 acres) of which are green space, 2 lakes, 23 fountains, 16 buildings, 27 large scale industrial structures and 127 pieces of steel-making machinery and tools of historical importance to the state of Nuevo Leon.[2] There's also a 3.4 kilometres (2.1 mi) long track surrounding the original section of the park.[1]

Buildings

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Monterrey Arena

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Arena Monterrey

Arena Monterrey is an indoor arena in Monterrey, Mexico. It is primarily used for concerts, shows and indoor sports like indoor soccer or basketball. It used to be the home arena of the Monterrey Fury indoor soccer team and the Fuerza Regia, a professional basketball team in the Liga Nacional de Baloncesto Profesional and the Monterrey La Raza, a team in the NISL.

The Arena Monterrey is owned by Publimax S.A. de C.V. (TV Azteca Northeast), part of the Avalanz Group, who owns 80% and by TV Azteca who owns 20%. The arena is 480,000 square feet (45,000 m2) in size.

Cintermex

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Parque Fiesta Aventuras

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The park's entrance as Parque Plaza Sésamo.

Parque Fiesta Aventuras (formerly Parque Plaza Sésamo) is a theme park located in the complex that originally opened in 1995. The park was operated under a license from Sesame Workshop, the owners of Sesame Street and Plaza Sésamo.

On May 18, 2022, the park announced that it would rebrand as Parque Fiesta Aventuras for the 2022 season following a two-year period of closure. The reason for the rebranding was not classified by the park, but is likely that the owners had terminated the license to use the Plaza Sésamo branding and characters.[6]

Auditorio Banamex

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Auditorio Citibanamex (formerly named Auditorio Coca-Cola, Auditorio Fundidora and Auditorio Banamex) is an indoor amphitheatre with a capacity of 8,200.[7]
The amphitheatre opened in 1994 with a sponsorship by The Coca-Cola Company, and it was the primary venue for concerts until the Arena Monterrey opened in 2003.

Centro de las Artes

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Museo de Acero

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Visualscapes

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Events

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Fundidora Park Circuit
 
LocationFundidora Park, Monterrey, Mexico
Time zoneUTC-6
Opened2001
Closed2006
Major eventsChamp Car World Series
Tecate/Telmex Grand Prix of Monterrey (2001–2006)
A1 Grand Prix (2006)
Formula Atlantic (2002–2006)
Barber Pro Series (2003)
Indy Lights (2001)
Websitehttp://www.parquefundidora.org/en
Grand Prix Circuit (2001–2006)
SurfaceAsphalt
Length3.390 km (2.104 miles)
Turns15
Race lap record1:14.529 (  Sébastien Bourdais, Lola B03/00, 2006, Champ Car)

Champ Car race history

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Season Date Driver Team Report
2001 March 11   Cristiano da Matta Newman/Haas Racing Report
2002 March 10   Cristiano da Matta Newman/Haas Racing Report
2003 March 23   Paul Tracy Forsythe Racing Report
2004 May 23   Sébastien Bourdais Newman/Haas Racing Report
2005 May 22   Bruno Junqueira Newman/Haas Racing Report
2006 May 21   Sébastien Bourdais Newman/Haas Racing Report

A1GP race history

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Season Date Sprint Race Winner Feature Race Winner Report
2005–2006 February 26   Alexandre Premat   Alexandre Premat Report

Lap records

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The fastest official race lap records at the Fundidora Park Circuit are listed as:

Class Time Driver Vehicle Event
Champ Car 1:14.529   Sébastien Bourdais Lola B02/00 2006 Tecate Grand Prix of Monterrey
CART 1:15.386   Cristiano da Matta Lola B02/00 2002 Tecate/Telmex Monterrey Grand Prix
A1 GP 1:21.100   Alexandre Prémat Lola A1GP 2005–06 A1 Grand Prix of Nations, Mexico
Formula Atlantic 1:23.206[8]   Graham Rahal Swift 016.a 2006 Monterrey Formula Atlantic round
Indy Lights 1:24.282[9]   Mario Domínguez Lola T97/20 2001 Monterrey Indy Lights round
Barber Pro Series 1:34.095[10]   David Martínez Reynard 98E 2003 Monterrey Barber Pro round

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c "Parque Fundidora - Acerca - Nosotros". www.parquefundidora.org. Retrieved 2019-11-27.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "Parque Fundidora - Acerca - Historia". www.parquefundidora.org. Retrieved 2019-11-27.
  3. ^ "Parque Fundidora - Acerca - Accesos y Horario". www.parquefundidora.org. Retrieved 2019-11-27.
  4. ^ Bervera, Carlos Herrero (2004). Los empresarios mexicanos de origen vasco y el desarrollo del capitalismo en México, 1880-1950 (in Spanish). Plaza y Valdes. ISBN 978-970-722-312-7.
  5. ^ Chávez, Gerardo González (2008). El estado y la globalización en la industria siderúrgica mexicana (in Spanish). UNAM. ISBN 978-968-9172-42-0.
  6. ^ "Facebook". facebook.com. Retrieved 2022-06-04.[self-published]
  7. ^ "Auditorio Citibanamex". Archived from the original on 2018-03-15. Retrieved 2018-03-15.
  8. ^ "2006 Formula Atlantic Fundidora Park". 21 May 2006. Retrieved 10 July 2022.
  9. ^ "2001 Indy Lights Monterrey". 11 March 2001. Retrieved 9 July 2022.
  10. ^ "2003 Barber Dodge Pro Series Round 2: Monterrey, 22nd March". 22 March 2003. Retrieved 16 July 2022.
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