At first, Sriwedari Stadium was built based on a proposal from RMT Wongsonegoro to the Sunan of Surakarta. This idea arose because Wongsonegoro noticed the unfair treatment of football athletes who, at the time, were only allowed to play barefoot on the Alun-alun Kidul field.

Responding to the proposal, the Sunan of Surakarta, who had ruled since the founding year of the Rood-Wit club, immediately agreed. This highly football-interested leader provided a location in Kebun Suwung (Sriwedari Village). In 1932, Sri Susuhunan Paku Buwono X of the Kasunanan Surakarta Palace took the initiative to build a stadium for sporting activities among the palace family and the indigenous community. This stadium was the first to be built by Indonesians, whereas other stadiums at the time were built by the Dutch.

The Kasunanan king then appointed Tuan Zeylman and R. Ng. Tjondrodiprodjo to plan and oversee the construction of Sriwedari Stadium. Within the Sriwedari Park complex, the stadium was built for the palace sports community. Construction began in 1932 and was completed in eight months, costing 30,000 guilders and employing 100 workers. After various planning and building stages, Sriwedari Stadium was completed in 1933.

The stadium was inaugurated by GPH Hargopalar on behalf of the Sri Susuhunan. The Dutch requested to use this magnificent stadium. Eventually, the Indonesian football association Persatuan Sepakbola Indonesia Solo (PERSIS) and its members could only use the stadium in the mornings and afternoons, while the Voetbal Bond Soerakarta (Dutch football club in Surakarta) had rights to the stadium at night.

From September 9 to 12, 1948, Sriwedari Stadium was the venue for the first National Sports Week (Pekan Olahraga Nasional or PON). Later in 1983, it also hosted the National Sports Day event led by President Soeharto. Since then, September 9 is commemorated annually as National Sports Day.

On August 4, 2003, the Solo city government, represented by Mayor Slamet Suryanto, renamed Sriwedari Stadium to R Maladi Stadium in honor of R Maladi’s services as a leader of the Student Army during the battle against the Dutch known as the 4-Day General Offensive in Solo, as Chairman of PSSI (1950-1959), former Minister of Information (1959-1962), and former Minister of Youth and Sports (1964-1966). The renaming was proposed by the Association of Former Student Army Brigade 17 Surakarta. Initially, R Maladi’s name was planned for Manahan Stadium, but for historical reasons, the Surakarta city government decided to rename Sriwedari Stadium instead.