- Estadio Defensores del Chaco
-
Defensores del Chaco 
Full name Estadio de los Defensores del Chaco Former names Estadio de Puerto Sajonia Location Barrio Sajonia, Asunción Opened 1917 Renovated 1939, 1996, 2007 Owner Asociación Paraguaya de Fútbol Surface Grass Capacity 36,000 [1] Tenants Paraguay national football team Estadio Defensores del Chaco is a multi-purpose stadium in Asunción, Paraguay. It is currently used mostly for football matches. The stadium once had a 50,000+ capacity but over the years the stadium has undergone remodeling dropping the capacity to 36,000.
Contents
Overview
The stadium was opened in 1917 and tts first name was "Estadio de Puerto Sajonia" because it was located in the Sajonia neighbourhood in Asunción. After Uruguay won the Olympic gold medal in football in 1924, the Paraguayan Football Association decided to rename the stadium "Uruguay" to honor the South American Nation. Later, the name was reverted back to Estadio Puerto Sajonia.
During the Chaco War, the stadium was used as a munitions depot and troop meeting arena. After the war, it was renamed with the current name "Defensores del Chaco" (Defenders of the Chaco) in honour of the triumphant soldiers that took part in the Chaco War between Paraguay and Bolivia. It underwent renovations during 1939, 1996 and 2007.[2]
The stadium is not owned by a team (it is a National stadium) and it is used primarily to host the home games of the Paraguay national football team and for international football club tournament games such as the Copa Libertadores and the Copa Sudamericana. It also held important matches during the 1999 Copa América, including the final in which Brazil defeated Uruguay.
2009 Partial Collapse
On February 1, 2009, two anti-riot police officers were killed and five injured when they were struck by a cement block that was part of the stadium. The cement block fell from a height of seven meters. The football match taking place during the collapse was delayed 40 minutes.[3]
See also
References
External links
Coordinates: 25°17′31.46″S 57°39′26.57″W / 25.2920722°S 57.6573806°W
Preceded by
Estadio Hernando Siles
La PazCopa América
Final Venue
1999Succeeded by
Estadio El Campín
BogotáAsunción: Estadio Defensores del Chaco, Estadio General Pablo Rojas · Ciudad del Este: Estadio Antonio Oddone Sarubbi ·
Luque: Estadio Feliciano Cáceres · Pedro Juan Caballero: Monumental Río ParapitíCategories:- Football venues in Paraguay
- National stadiums
- Asunción
- Copa América stadiums
- Multi-purpose stadiums
- South American sports venue stubs
- Paraguayan sport stubs
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
