Our Stadium of the Year competition has officially begun and will run until March 15. As many as 36 venues are on the list of nominees this year. One of them is Estadio Villa Alegre, located in Encarnación, Paraguay. Take a look at this candidacy and decide whether you want to vote for it in the contest for Stadium of the Year 2022!

Estadio Villa Alegre nominated for Stadium of the Year 2022!

Residents of Encarnación finally got a new football venue, after the old Estadio Villa Alegre was demolished in 2010. Its successor has been in development since 2016 and last year finally brought the matter to a happy conclusion. The new Estadio Villa Alegre made it to the list of 36 football arenas nominated for the prestigious Stadium of the Year 2022 award. The competition is the largest public vote of its kind in the world. Since the first edition began, a total of more than 400,000 valid votes have been counted.

This year’s contest is highly varied, with stadiums from as many as six different continents taking part: 18 venues are from Asia, eight from Europe, four from Africa, three from North America, two from South America and one from Australia and Oceania. The competition is fierce, so don't hesitate to cast a vote for the stadium you appreciate the most! If you’re still unsure, you can watch a video covering all 36 nominated stadiums:

Get to know Estadio Villa Alegre

The construction of the Yaciretá dam brought big changes for Encarnación, located on the banks of the Parana River. As a result of the creation of the dam reservoir, the coastal areas of the city were flooded. This also affected Estadio Villa Alegre. Although the facility did not lie directly in the area earmarked for flooding, the decision was nevertheless taken to decommission it.

Construction of the new stadium in different location began in 2016. Its first phase, after which the stands along the pitch and the floodlight masts were ready, was completed in 2019. This was followed by the second phase, which included the addition of the missing stands on the arches. The work was completed in 2021. The inauguration of the facility had to wait until November 4, 2022, when the stadium hosted the final of the 4th edition of the Copa Paraguay. Here are some interesting facts about the arena: 

• The stadium cost nearly 57.5 billion guarani (approximately $8 million).
• The venue is more than 3 times larger than the old one has a capacity of 16,000 fans
• Only the main stand is equipped with plastic seats
• There are four 63.5-metre high floodlight masts in the corners of the stadium.

Estadio Villa Alegre has oval, uncovered single-tier stands running around the playing field. Despite its shape, the facility is not equipped with a running track and its main sporting use is for football matches. There are still plans for a third phase, which will include the expansion of the stands to a capacity of 30,000 spectators.

How to vote for the Stadium of the Year 2022?

In order to take part, everyone has to select five stadiums by giving 5 stars to the best one, 4 stars to the second best, 3 stars to the third, 2 stars for the fourth and finally 1 star for the fifth most interesting. It means that you cannot cast your vote for only one stadium - all 5 venues must be included in your form. To vote visit Stadium of the Year 2022, the voting platform which will be open until March 15. To learn more about the nominated stadiums and the voting rules themselves, it is recommended to watch the video: