Panama city proposes naming stadium for national team hero Roman Torres

A Panamanian politician plans to put forth a proposal Tuesday to change the name of a local stadium to honor Seattle Sounders center back Roman Torres.

Torres became a national hero when his goal against Costa Rica lifted Los Caneleros to a 2-1 victory and earned them the third position in the final round of CONCACAF World Cup qualification, sending Panama to its first-ever World Cup.

While Torres was born in the capital, an official who represents Arraijan in neighboring province Panama Oeste is hoping to pay tribute to Torres and the time he spent in the town during his formative years.

“The stadium we have in Arraijan, that is for soccer and also for baseball, is called El Mystic, it doesn't have a particular name," Dayanara Caceres told Mi Diario Panama. "I thought it was the most opportune time to be able to offer the honors to this distinguished sportsman who, although he wasn’t born in Arraijan, lived here for many years and studied at the Fernando de Lesseps Institute.

"It’s an initiative to highlight the star that Roman Torres is.”

The new name would also be accompanied by improvements to the facility, with the mayor of Arraijan set to earmark funds for the public stadium in 2018.

In 2014, an effort was made by local officials in the Perez Zeledon region of Costa Rica to rename the local stadium after Keylor Navas. The goalkeeper had played a starring role in Costa Rica's run to the quarterfinals and was set to complete a move to Real Madrid.

After initial success, the name remained Estadio Municipal de Perez Zeledon because of a Costa Rican law that requires a person to be deceased before having a public building named after them.