Estadio Contador Damiani, formerly Las Acacias, is a stadium in Montevideo,
Uruguay
Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...
, inaugurated in 1916 and re-built in 1997. It is used mostly for
Peñarol
Club Atlético Peñarol (; English: ''Peñarol Athletic Club'') —also known as ''Carboneros'', ''Aurinegros,'' and (familiarly) ''Manyas''— is a Uruguayan sports club from Montevideo. The name "Peñarol" comes from the Peñarol neigh ...
VIP
A very important person or personage (VIP or V.I.P.) is a person who is accorded special privileges due to their high social status, influence or importance. The term was not common until sometime after World War 2 by RAF pilots.
Examples inc ...
stands and the entrance were taken in 1930 to the stadium
Estadio Pocitos
Estadio Pocitos was a multi-use stadium located in the Pocitos district of Montevideo, Uruguay. The stadium, owned by C.A. Peñarol, was mainly used for football matches from 1921 to 1933. It was demolished later in the 1930s when Peñarol star ...
, where the first ever goal in
World Cup
A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...
Lucien Laurent
Lucien Laurent (10 December 1907 – 11 April 2005) was a French association football player who played as a Forward (association football), forward. Playing for France national football team, France, at the 1930 FIFA World Cup, 1930 World Cup he ...
. The structure has since been returned to its original location.
This stadium bears the name of the person who was president of Peñarol for years, the accountant
José Pedro Damiani
José Pedro Damiani (October 10, 1921 – August 25, 2007) was an Uruguayan politician and accountant. He was the Uruguay
Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in ...
.
History
In 1912 the company "La Transatlántica" offered the
CURCC
Central Uruguay Railway Cricket Club (mostly known for its acronym CURCC) was a Uruguayan sports club, originally established by British railway workers for the practise of cricket. Nevertheless, the club would be notable for its football section ...
(club predecessor to Peñarol) a land so that it could build a playing field closer to Montevideo than Villa Peñarol. The 38,000 square feet land was located in the Marconi neighborhood facing Avenida de Las Acacias (today José Possolo) and the authorities of the institution promised to pay for it, monthly installments of 150 pesos of the time until reaching the agreed price ( URU$20,207).
In 1913 the payment for the field was completed and it passed definitively into the hands of Peñarol."97 años de Las Acacias", 19 Apr 2013 at Manyahistoria blog
After years in which the construction of the stands did not materialize, works were finished under Francisco Simón's administration. The venue was finally inaugurated on April 19, 1916 in a friendly match (won by the local team 3–1) between Peñarol and its classic rival Nacional for the "Transatlantic Cup".
Peñarol played all their home matches at Las Acacias until 1921 when
Estadio Pocitos
Estadio Pocitos was a multi-use stadium located in the Pocitos district of Montevideo, Uruguay. The stadium, owned by C.A. Peñarol, was mainly used for football matches from 1921 to 1933. It was demolished later in the 1930s when Peñarol star ...
was inaugurated. The great amount of supporters that attended Peñarol matches forced the moving to that venue. Since then, Las Acacias has been used as a venue for Peñarol reserve teams and training divisions, although the senior squad would return to the stadium in the 1990s.
Nevertheless in late 1990s the Municipality of Montevideo disallowed the use of the stadium for Primera División matches alleging security reasons. The last official match played by Peñarol's senior team was on the 1st round of Torneo Clausura in 1997, against Rampla Juniors. For this reason, Peñarol used
Estadio Centenario
Estadio Centenario is a stadium in the Parque Batlle of Montevideo, Uruguay, used primarily for football. The stadium was built between 1929 and 1930 to host the inaugural 1930 FIFA World Cup, as well as to commemorate the centenary of Ur ...
to play their home games until the inauguration of
Estadio Campeón del Siglo
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 t ...
in 2016.
Although Peñarol has other larger complexes, reforms have been announced to improve the general condition of both the complex and the stadium. In January 2023, it was announced that artificial turf would be installed on the stadium.