Football Stadiums In Brazil

Estádio do Maracanã / “Maracanã stadium” of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

The Estádio do Maracanã, “Maracanã stadium”, (official name: Estádio

Jornalista Mário Filho), in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, is one of the largest
football stadiums in the world. Maracanã is the name of its neighborhood in Rio de Janeiro. Owned by the government, it hosts matches
played by the biggest football clubs in Rio, including Flamengo, Botafogo, Fluminense and Vasco da Gama.

The stadium, built for the 1950 FIFA World Cup, originally had a capacity of 200,000. However, its capacity was greatly reduced when it was
converted to an all-seater in the 1990s; it can currently hold around 77,720 seated and 103,022 with standing room. It is now undergoing
renovations that will increase its all-seated capacity to around 97,000.



The 1950 deciding match between Brazil and Uruguay was hosted at the Maracanã stadium. Brazil only needed a draw to win, but lost the
match 2-1 after being up 1-0 ; this match has since been known as the “Maracanaço” (or in Spanish, “Maracanazo”).  “There were people
standing everywhere, even on the roof. The excitement was hard to describe!”

“ai, ai, ai ai, esta chegando a hora, the crowd was roaring, “which means ,the time is coming. “Brazil got ahead by one goal to nothing in the
second half and the crowd started yelling, ole! every time a Brazilian defensive player would pass the ball to another, while the Uruguayans
would try to get the ball away to initiate an attack.

Then the tides began to turn. Suddenly out of nowhere the Uruguay team scored! Still, the Brazilians would be world champions with a tie. The
cheers started to grow, and all of the hundred thousand of Brazilians were screaming to the Brazilian team to attack and score another goal.

The crowd was throwing confetti and chanting and cheering and everyone was standing, just waiting for the final whistle to blow. Then,
suddenly, right at the end of the match, Uruguay got the ball and scored. A second later, the game was over. The shock hit the crowd in a
fundamental wave.


In 1952, São Paulo’s chairman Cícero Pompeu de Toledo requested the city’s mayor Armando Pereira Arruda a groundplot in the Ibirapuera
neighborhood. However, the mayor refused the request, but donated a groundplot in the Morumbi neighborhood to São Paulo.

On August 15, 1952, the stadium construction started. Only eight years later, in 1960, the construction was partially concluded, and the stadium was inaugurated with a maximum capacity of 70,000 people.

The inaugural match was played on October 2, 1960, when São Paulo beat Sporting Lisbon of Portugal 1-0. The first goal of the stadium was scored by São Paulo’s Peixinho.

On March 2, 1969, shortly after the end of the São Paulo-Corinthians 2-4 match, a thunderbolt discharged close to the stadium, starting a tumult in the stadium exit doors. Because of the tumult, one of the walls collapsed, and a 40-year old Corinthians supporter named João Benedetti died.

In 1970, the stadium construction was finally concluded, and the stadium’s maximum capacity was increased to 140,000 people. The re-inaugural match between São Paulo and FC Porto drew 1-1.

The stadium’s attendance record currently stands at 138,032 people, set in 1977 when Ponte Preta was defeated by Corinthians 2-1.

In 1994, a major overhaul of the stadium started, which was concluded only in 2000. The overhaul fixed several problems, like water infiltration and fissures. A new illumination system was installed, and the safety conditions were improved. The stadium’s maximum capacity was reduced to 80,000 people.

Estadio Parque do Sabia

The stadium was inaugurated on May 27, 1982, as Parque do Sabiá (meaning Sabiá’s Park, or Thrush’s Park).

In 1995, the stadium was renamed to Estádio Municipal João Havelange, after a suggestion of the city councillor Leonídio Bouças. However, the name change was not very popular among city of Uberlândia football fans, and the stadium are still commonly called Parque do Sabiá.

The inaugural match was played on May 27, 1982, when the Brazil national football team beat the Republic of Ireland national football team 7-0. The first goal of the stadium was scored by Brazil’s Falcão.

The stadium’s attendance record currently stands at 80,000, set on the inaugural match.

Magalhaes Pinto

Estádio Mineirão (meaning Big Mineiro Stadium), officially Estádio Governador Magalhães Pinto (Governor Magalhães Pinto Stadium) established in 1965 after Governor Magalhães Pinto, is the largest football stadium in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil.

On February 25, 1960, the government of the Union and the Federal University of Minas Gerais gave Minas Gerais land in the neighborhood of Pampulha, Belo Horizonte, for the construction of the stadium.

The Mineirão was planned by Eduardo Mendes Guimarães Júnior and Caspar Garreto, both architects. The structural project was undertaken by engineer Arthur Eugênio Jermann. The construction workmanship was directed by engineer Gil Cesar Moreira de Abreu. From 1963 to the date of its inauguration on September 5, 1965, approximately five thousand people were involved in the construction.

The festivities marking the opening of the stadium included parachute jumpers, music, and an inaugural football match. The events were attended by 73,201 people. The inaugural match at Mineirão Stadium was played by the Minas Gerais state team and the Argentinian team, River Plate.

It is said that Mineirão had held 132,834 people in 1997 in the match between Cruzeiro and Villa Nova in the final match of the state league, but in this match, women and children did not have to pay. The paying attendance was 74,857, and there were 56,618 women and children who entered for free. For safety reasons the capacity of Mineirão had been reduced for the majority of its 40 years of history. In 2004, by imposition of FIFA, the capacity of the stadium was reduced to less than 72,000 people.

Since the stadium’s opening, three important teams of Belo Horizonte have hosted their matches in Mineirão: Atlético Mineiro, Cruzeiro Esporte Clube and América Mineiro (which also has a private stadium). Mineirão has also hosted matches of the Brazilian national team.

Atlético Mineiro is the club which brought more people to Mineirão Stadium: until 2002, 20,887,391 people have watched 1,011 matches of Atlético. The second is Cruzeiro, with 19,544,507 in 1,062 matches. These statistics do not include derbies.

Castelao Maranhao

Castelão was completed in 1982 and was inaugurated on February 5 of that year.

The inaugural match was played on February 5, 1982, when the Brazil national team beat the Portugal national team 3-1. The first goal of the stadium was scored by Brazil’s Júnior.

The stadium’s attendance record currently stands at 97,720, set on
September 24. 1998, when Santos beat Sampaio Corrêa 5-1. This Copa CONMEBOL match broke the previously attendance record, which was
95,000 people (Moto Club 3-1 Sampaio Corrêa, played in 1987).

Castelão (Fortaleza)

Castelão was completed in 1973 and was inaugurated on November 11 of that year.

In May, 2000, the Ceará state government decided to reform the stadium. The reformations were divided in three parts, and started on May 16, 2001. The first part consisted in the recovery of the ditches, and of the bleachers junctions, as well as the recovery of the low walls. The second part of the
reformation started on July 20, 2001, and consisted in the recovery and strengthen of the stadium physical structure. The third part consisted in the recovery of the electrical, hydraulic, sanitary and electronic installations.

The inaugural match was played on November 11, 1973, when Ceará and Fortaleza drew 0-0. The stadium’s first goal was scored on November 18, 1973 by Ceará’s Erandy, when Ceará beat Vitória 1-0.

The re-inaugural match was played on March 23, 2002, when the Brazil national team beat the Yugoslavia national team 1-0. The stadium’s first goal after the re-inauguration was scored by Brazil’s Luizão.

The stadium’s attendance record currently stands at 118,496, set on August 27. 1980, when the Brazil national team beat the Uruguay national team 1-0.

Castelão is a possible venue to 2014 World Cup that possible will be held in Brazil.

Fonte Nova Stadium

The Estádio Fonte Nova, also known as Estádio Octávio Mangabeira is a football stadium inaugurated on
January 28, 1951 in Salvador, Bahia, with a maximum capacity of 66,080 people. The stadium is owned
by the Bahia government, and is the home ground of Esporte Clube Bahia. Its formal name honors ctávio Cavalcanti Mangabeira, a civil engineer, journalist, and former Bahia state governor from 1947 to 1954.

The stadium is nicknamed Fonte Nova because it is located at Ladeira das Fontes das Pedras.

The stadium construction ended in 1951. On March 4, 1971, the stadium was reinaugurated, after a great
reformation, which expanded the maximum stadium capacity from 35,000 to 110,000. In the reinauguration day, two matches were played: Bahia against Flamengo, and Vitória against Grêmio. On
that day happened a big tumult, where two people died.

The inaugural match was played on January 28, 1951, when Guarany and Botafogo, both local Bahia
state teams, drew 2-1. The first goal of the stadium was scored by Guarany’s Nélson.

The stadium’s attendance record currently stands at 110,438, set on February 12, 1989 when Bahia beat
Fluminense 2-1.


Estádio José do Rego Maciel, also known as Estádio do Arruda, is a multi-use stadium in Recife, Brazil. It is currently used mostly for football matches. The stadium was built in 1972 and is able to hold 60,044 people. Estádio do Arruda is owned by Santa Cruz Futebol Clube. The stadium is named after José do Rego Maciel, who was Recife’s mayor between 1952 and 1955.

The mayor José do Rego Maciel donated in 1955 a groundplot to Santa Cruz. This groundplot is the place were the stadium was built. The stadium was inaugurated on June 4, 1972.

The inaugural match was played on June 4, 1972, when Santa Cruz beat an Amateur Brazilian National team 1-0. The first goal of the stadium was scored by Santa Cruz’s Betinho.

The stadium’s attendance record currently stands at 90,200, set on March 23, 1994 when Brazil beat Argentina 2-0. Since then the capacity of the stadium has reduced due to safety reasons.