Estadio Eladio Rosabal Cordero – historical stadium description

The construction of CS Herediano’s stadium became possible thanks to the support of local authorities, who granted the club the land for development. Work began on December 22, 1945, and the inaugural match was played on August 21, 1949, when the hosts defeated Sociedad Gimnástica Española 3–1 – although this opening date is sometimes disputed.

The venue served CS Herediano, one of the three leading football clubs in the country, for more than seven decades. The club, founded in 1921, had already won numerous titles by the time the stadium opened.

In the 1960s, the stadium was named after Eladio Rosabal Cordero, one of the founders of CS Herediano and a former captain of the team. During the same decade, the venue was also equipped with floodlights.

The stadium featured a traditional football layout, with stands surrounding the pitch on all sides. Towards the end of its operation, it could hold 8,700 spectators, and the eastern stand was covered.

The facility was located in the center of Heredia, a city that forms part of the San José metropolitan area (Gran Área Metropolitana). Just behind the eastern stand there was an outdoor swimming pool and the sports hall (Palacio de los Deportes).

Plans for a complete reconstruction of the stadium had been circulating for a long time, but concrete steps were not taken until 2019, when a design for a new arena by Daniel González was presented.

The old stadium was demolished in the second half of 2020, after which construction began on a new, larger, and more modern venue in its place. The cornerstone was laid on November 6, 2020. Initially, the new stadium was expected to be completed in 2021, but the project experienced significant delays.