Estadio General Pablo Rojas

Estadio General Pablo Rojas, locally known as La Olla or La Nueva Olla and for sponsorship reasons known as Estadio ueno La Nueva Olla, is a football stadium in the neighbourhood of Barrio Obrero in Asunción, Paraguay. It is the home of Cerro Porteño. The stadium's nickname, ''La Olla'', meaning ''The Pot'' in English, was given by the club's former president, General Pablo Rojas, after whom the stadium was named following his death. The stadium was used during the 1999 Copa América, hosting a Group C fixture between Uruguay and Colombia. In 2015, the stadium is underwent expansion and remodeling works in order to increase its capacity to 51,237 people. The stadium has balconies, car parking, food courts and canteens in all sectors.

History

The stadium hosted its first game on 24 May 1970, a 2-1 victory for Porteño over Club Silvio Pettirossi. It underwent renovations in 1980, 2009 and between 2015 and 2017. For many years after its opening, the stadium, the south-eastern part remained unfinished. This was due to a house blocking its construction, whose owners refused to sell it. That was until 38 years later, in 2009, allowing the stadium to be fully completed.

2015–2017 renovation

The renovation design between 2015 and 2017 was by Alfredo Angulo. During the 2015 reconstruction, the playing field was significantly lowered, which enabled the first ever field-level private boxes in Paraguay. Its grandstand was demolished to add a 5,000-seat upper tier to the north stand and a smaller upper tier was created above the east and south stands. Its main grandstand gained floor space and dozens of skyboxes, which played crucial role in the financing of the entire scheme. The stadium was smoothened significantly and remained asymmetric. Members of the club's barra brava worked for 18-months on the stadium's construction in a publicity campaign which helped their image and also created a stronger bond between the fans and the stadium.

The renovated stadium was reinaugurated on 19 August 2017 with a ceremony that CONMEBOL president Alejandro Domínguez attended. Following the ceremony, a friendly match was played between Cerro Porteño and Argentine club Boca Juniors. Boca won the match 2–1.

Concerts

See also

* List of association football stadia by capacity

References

External links

*

Cerro website
(archived 3 June 2000)

Stadium images

{{DEFAULTSORT:General Pablo Rojas
Football venues in Asunción
Sports venues completed in 1992
Estadio General Pablo Rojas
Sports venues in Asunción