Colombian city of Barranquilla to build new stadium

Colombia's northern city of Barranquilla will build a new baseball stadium for the 2018 Central American and Caribbean Games.

According to Cuban news agency Prensa Latina, the new stadium will be named Edgar Renteria after the Colombian baseball star.

The construction work will cost some 15 million U.S. dollars and will have a capacity of 12,000. The stadium will follow the highest standards set by the U.S. Mayor Baseball League (MLB).

Joao Herrera, Sports Secretary of Barranquilla, said the stadium's lights will be the same as the ones of New York's Yankee Stadium.

Herrera also said the stadium should be finished after 20 months to host the Central American and Caribbean Games in 2018.

The old stadium, which was called Tomas Arrieta, built in 1946 and hosted games of Colombia's Professional Baseball League, will be demolished.

A statue of Renteria will be placed outside the new stadium. Renteria was shortstop of U.S. MLB Florida Marlins, San Francisco Giants and Cincinnati Reds. His last game was on Sept. 28, 2011.