The stadium has been renamed three times . Built in 1948 , it was originally named " El Estadio Nacional " ( The National Stadium ) . After the 1972 earthquake that struck Managua and destroyed 90 % of the city , it was rebuilt and renamed after Anastasio Somoza García . In 1979 , after the Sandinistas overthrew the Somoza dynasty , it was renamed in honor of Rigoberto López Pérez , the man who , in 1956 , assassinated Anastasio Somoza García . On November 20 , 1998 , the 50th anniversary of the founding of the stadium , then-President Arnoldo Alemán issued a decree changing the stadium 's name to Estadio Nacional Dennis Martínez . Dennis Martínez , born in 1955 ( several years after this stadium had opened ) , was Major League Baseball 's first Nicaraguan-born player
1972 earthquake
1972 Nicaragua earthquake
Dennis Martínez National Stadium