The decision to build the new stadium for the city of Santa Marta was made by mayor Rafael Martínez after Colombia won the bid to host the 2017 Bolivarian Games, which is organized by ODEBO.

[6] The construction of the stadium started in November 2016 with seating capacity for 16,000 spectators and is the axis of the new Villa Bolivariana for the 2017 Bolivarian Games.

It was the venue for the opening and closing ceremonies of the Games as well as the men's U-17 and the women's U-20 soccer tournaments, although the western tribune of the stadium was incomplete at the time of the event.

The act was attended by the mayor of the city of Santa Marta, Rafael Martínez, the outgoing president of ODEBO, Danilo Carrera, and the director of Coldeportes, Clara Luz Roldán González.

[10] In October 2017, the mayor of the city, Rafael Martínez, in a press conference announced the name of the stadium "Sierra Nevada", which is Santa Marta's isolated mountain range.