Estadio General Pablo Rojas - Cerro Porteño Stadium Guide

The plot of land known as “Avenida Quinta” which today’s Estadio General Pablo Rojas is located on has been used throughout the 20th century for various sporting activities. Situated within the Capilla San Juan area of Paraguay’s Capital City, Asunción, the first instance of the field being used for football matches was recorded between 1924 – 1927 after a construction period of nearly three years.

It wasn’t until a decade later on 27th September 1936 that the stadium was inaugurated as “Estadio Adriano Irala”, with the creation of basic facilities and spectator stands. The surrounding field was known as “Quinta Escobar” and in 1951 the ground became the first in Paraguay to have a permanent lighting system, with the first flood-lit match at the ground held against Club Libertad.

In the 1980s Cerro Porteño acquired the land on which the old “La Ollita” stood, and began to formulate plans to redevelop the stadium into a purpose-built, modern day footballing arena. Consisting of a elliptical bowl design, the new Estadio General Pablo Rojas, was constructed in phases with the ground achieving its current 32,910 capacity in 2009 after the redevelopment of the East Stand.

As one of the largest stadiums in Paraguay La Olla Monumental has occasionally hosted matches of the national team, and in 1999, hosted a Copa America match between Uruguay and Colombia. The most recent renovation to the stadium came in February 2014, when a brand new high-definition LED Screen was added to the north stand, with the first match since the installation held against Club Atlético Lanús in the Copa Libertadores.

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