Estadio Campeón del Siglo is a football stadium located in Bañados de Carrasco, Montevideo, Uruguay, and the home ground of Peñarol, who plays in the First Division. It has a maximum capacity of 40,000.
History
Background
Projects to own a stadium date back to the 20th century, but never managed to materialize. Although the club already owned the Estadio Contador Damiani (former Las Acacias) since 1916, it is currently not approved for Uruguayan Primera División matches by authorities, due to lack of security, and it is used by the club's youth divisions instead.
The first project dates back to 1933, when the team presented a project to build a stadium near Montevideo's promenade, same place in which now the popular Teatro de Verano is found. Half a century later, in 1998, the club announced plans, presenting a real life model, of a stadium to be built in the Franklin D. Roosevelt park near Avenida Gianattassio, in Canelones. On the successive years, under the command of club president José Pedro Damiani, continuous projects were presented, which all planned for a 40 thousand seat stadium.
The Parque Rodó Stadium
Considered the first project held by Peñarol for a club-owned stadium, it is registered in the club's 1933 Annual Report & Financial Statements, in which '(...)it is proposed and less than solved the practical execution of Parque Rodó Stadium'. In this document, a 30 thousand capacity multi-purpose stadium is planned. It was thought to hold basketball, cycling, boxing and volleyball events, apart from the club's most successful and popular sport, football.
The 'Damiani-Moore' Stadium
Presented in 2005. It would be located in Canelones, with an approximate capacity of 32.500 people. It was shaped similarly to Peñarol's then local stadium, Estadio Centenario, and its stands were to be named in honour of the club's greatest glories, such as, for example Obdulio Varela, Juan Schiaffino, Fernando Morena, Pablo Bengoechea, Diego Aguirre, Alberto Spencer and Ladislao Mazurkiewicz.
Project to build a stadium in the Franklin D. Roosevelt park
Presented in 2011, the project implied a U$S 13 million investment, with an initial capacity of 35.000 spectators, open to further expansions. A proposal was presented to the local government (Intendencia Departamental de Canelones), with an estimate of 25.286 tickets to be sold at the inaugural match. Ultimately, doubts originated if the site (donated by a private to be used as a public park) was allowed to be destined to the project, plus environmental impact studies and neighbour protests against the stadiums construction, ended with the cancellation of the project.
Stadium buyout projects
As a result of the several failed attempts to build its own stadium, Peñarol tried, several times over the last three decades, to buy and take charge of already built stadiums.
In 1993 a proposal was made to take charge of the Estadio Charrúa, of municipal property, giving away the Estadio Contador Damiani as part of the payment. It did not succeed. Then again, in 2001, Peñarol tried to buy said stadium again, pretending to expand the venue from a 10.000 to 30.000 spectators, in an usufruct of thirty years. Another usufruct was then planned, this time involving Estadio Centenario, over a deal with Uruguays football association (AUF), the Stadium Official Administrators (CAFO) and the municipal government. These projects, never got past the proposals, which got withdrawn or denied.
Stadium construction
In September 2012, club president Juan Pedro Damiani presented plans to build a 40,005 people stadium on the outskirts of Montevideo, near recently completed route 102. It would comply with all FIFA standards and regulations, having a 105 x 68 metres football pitch, a high-technology digital scoreboard, conference rooms for up to 70 people, 107 executive boxes, plus the club's headquarters and museum would be moved to the new stadium.
As the club lacked sufficient funds to make an operation of such magnitude, a joint venture was formed with local football television rights holders Tenfield; and a loan of about U$S 20 million by Banco de la República Oriental del Uruguay, Uruguay's state bank, was agreed. The deal implied Tenfield owned the rights to decide the field's commercial name, and all of the static & adboard publicity shown.
On December 19, 2013 a symbolic foundation stone, which can now be found by the main building's hall, was laid by the club president, box holders and club celebrities. By 10 February 2014, the construction broke ground.