EURO 2004 Stadia

Jeffles · Post by **Jeffles** » Wed Oct 22, 2003 10:42 pm

10 new all seater stadiums in Portugal for the biggest sporting event of next year outside the Olympics. 7 30,000 capacity grounds, Alvelade (Sporting Lisbon), Das Antas (FC Porto) will each hold 52,000 and Luz (SL Benfica) will host the final and will seat 65,000.

Note that the Estadio Nacional will not be used for any matches. This 3 sided ampitheatre built on the outskirts of Lisbon during Salazar's fascist regime will not be upgraded. It's appalling conditions, a product of the regime itself as well as a product of time makes it too costly to do anything to the arena, whose fate is now unknown.

Alvelade and Luz look fantastic. Luz reminds me of Suncorp Stadium. Alvelade reminds me of part Telstra Stadium and part City of Manchester Stadium,. The Azulejos (tiles) outside Alvelade give the stadium wonderful colour and glamour. Pity those bloody Lions get that. Antas also looks the goods. It reminds me of City of Manchester Stadium as well.

The grounds are all near completion. Only about 1-2 months behind schedule. They should all open by the year's end. FC Porto will inaugurate Antas with a match against FC Barcelona. Benfica are taking on a Uruguayan club side this Saturday in the Luz inauguration.

Wish I could go back for it. The tickets are OK priced . Grand Final tickets start at 85 Euro I think.

Should be a cracker of a tournament. Expect big support for the home side as well as Spain, UK and Germany (tourists).

Egan · Post by **Egan** » Wed Oct 22, 2003 10:53 pm

Im looking forward to it, Switzerland should be the roughie, with the good form they have shown in pool matches. Portugal must be counting on alot of tourists it seems like they have spent a hell of alot of money on this tournament, arguably the second biggest after the world cup. I dont think the olympics would be bigger.

Im looking forward to Switzerland beeing something like Korea was in the World Cup a roughie. Im just wondering the capacity for the final seems a little low, 62,000 with huge interest from around the world. The World Cup in Yokohama was 80,000 which was lower then I thought the World Cup deserved. Is it just me or do we Australians just lucky to have two stadiums over 80,000 considering our populations and size, on the world scale it seems like we have built larger then 'normal stadiums.

Interesting, hope you had a good time going to all those grounds, you missed going to the Reebok home to the Mighty Bolton Wanderers. The newest and most state of the art stadium in england.

Ohwell its a stadium I would love to go to. Nou Camp, just being there would be a dream no matter what it looked like, so much history.

Jeffles · Post by **Jeffles** » Wed Oct 22, 2003 11:03 pm

Portugal are just about past it IMO. It pains me to say that but think 2004 will be their last crack at a decent trophy for some time. They still have to figure out the issue of a decent goalie.

65,000 for the final is reasonable. Portugal is one of the poorer EU nations and I don't think the money was their to build a bigger Luz then make it smaller post 2004 (ala Sydney Olynmpic Stadium). Benfica also are in a perilous financial state and theire crowds could not justify 65,000 people. It is a nation of 10 million and also 65,000 is just about the size of Old Trafford. So it isn't that bad.

swede · Post by **swede** » Sat Oct 25, 2003 8:05 pm

Luz looks a great stadium, not too different from the planned new arsenal stadium, I dont think.
I saw some great photos at www.stadionwelt.de, choose "stadien/arenen" and "forum" then 2004 and the name "Luz"
its unfortunately a german site..

perhaps you are lucky to have large stadiums, but this really is looked at completly different in europe. clubs really do not want stadiums that are bigger than their general support any more.
Juventus are the latest example of this. They have bought their 70.000 all-seater Alpi stadium, where they average 35-40.000, I think, and will now spend a lot of money on rebuilding the venue (built only in 1990), When completed the capacity will be 35.000 with the guaranteed sell outs being the number one aim, instead of considering it a problem.The groundshare with Turin will also come to an end, with them building an even smaller stadium. In other words, Turin "looses" a 70.000 venue and gets two at 30-35.000. other clubs are expanding, but only when its needed for all games.

At the next EURO ch´ships, the final will probably be played at an even smaller venue since they are hosted by smaller countries, where the tournament can help the stadium infrastructure.

Jeffles · Post by **Jeffles** » Sat Oct 25, 2003 8:20 pm

You're right Swede.

When I was in Portugal I bought a book of Euro 2004 Stadiums. It has renderings and articles about the design of the stadiums. It is written in Portuguese and English (half and half). If anyone (in Oz) wants tto borrow it send me a message and I can post it to you.

Hiraldo · Post by **Hiraldo** » Sat Oct 25, 2003 8:34 pm

Thanks swede, Luz looks like a great venue for a final even if it isn't 80 000+ (Which it really shouldn't be anyway).

Another ground I've seen is this:

Braga Municipal. Doesn't look like anything special there but it's going to be a rather interesting ground once it's complete. Basically it's just this stand and an identical one on the other side, with hills (!!) at the ends behind the goals. 30 000 capacity overall.

Jeffles · Post by **Jeffles** » Sat Oct 25, 2003 9:34 pm

Braga Municipal is a great stadium in terms of architectural initiative. It is built on 2 slopes of a mountain. So one goal end will be the mountain and the other goal end will run downhill. Also the wings are built on a sliope as well. So to enter one stand you would enter the seating from the bottom (pitch level) and to enter the other stand, you would enter from the top (roof level). Absolutely freaky.

swede · Post by **swede** » Mon Oct 27, 2003 5:45 pm

Thanks Hiraldo, unfortunately I am not good enough with the computer to insert pictures. Strange how the best photos are often not on official sites.

Its certainly an original stadium, but in the end I think the atmosphere will be pretty flat with two empty ends

Jeffles · Post by **Jeffles** » Tue Oct 28, 2003 1:03 am

Probably right there Swede. Those gaping holes will remove a lot of sound.

As an aside, I think the atmosphere will be off the streets. Portuguese police are adopting a relaxed stance on visiting fans, as opposed to the zero tolerance the English Police practice. Portugal wants to maintain its image as a friendly nation by not upsetting visitors. Should be interesting...

james_ · Post by **james_** » Tue Dec 16, 2003 3:18 pm

swede wrote:At the next EURO ch´ships, the final will probably be played at an even smaller venue since they are hosted by smaller countries, where the tournament can help the stadium infrastructure.

The largest of the Austria Switzerland Euro 2008 stadia is Ernst Happel Stadium, Vienna - 50,000 seat capacity. The other seven venues have 30,000-seat capacities.

Jeffles · Post by **Jeffles** » Tue Dec 16, 2003 11:07 pm

Now that FC Porto have drawn Man Utd in the next phase of the UEFA Champions League, the Estadio Dragao (the new name for Das Antas) will have its first test of the English crowds. It will also give Portuguese authorities an opportuity to test this controversial "friendly policy" towards the "hooligans".

I can't stand both clubs. A gloating pair if ever I've seen. Come on scoreless draws!!!!

james_ · Post by **james_** » Fri Jan 02, 2004 8:39 pm

From uefa.com:

SC Braga's Estádio Municipal

Final two venues ready for action
Wednesday, 31 December 2003

At a time of year when most clubs around Europe are enjoying a rest, Boavista FC and SC Braga used the penultimate day of 2003 to inaugurate the final two venues for UEFA EURO 2004™.

Spanish opponents
Boavista inaugurated their renovated Estádio do Bessa with a friendly against Málaga CF, while Braga met another Spanish side, RC Celta de Vigo, to officially open their brand new Estádio Municipal de Braga.

'Work of art'
Described as a "work of art" by UEFA Stadium and Security Committee president Ernie Walker, the new ground in Braga is in one of the most spectacular settings in the world. The 30,000-capacity venue will have only two stands and each end of the stadium is notable for a hillside amphitheatre.

'Work was worth it'
Souto Moura, one of most well-known Portuguese architects, was behind the design of the new stadium. "Football is a show and nobody likes to see a show from behind," he said when asked why he opted for two stands instead the traditional four. "I'm delighted to see that these four years of work were worth it."

'Architectural innovation'
Braga’s mayor, Mesquita Machado, also expressed his satisfaction on a proud day for the city. "This is a work that is going to mark the city," he said. “It's a stamp of innovation in world architecture and engineering, and it will be an excellent tourist attraction for Braga."

Only goal
Braga's Paulo Jorge made history by becoming the first player to score in the new ground, heading a Paulo Sérgio cross into the net in the 14th minute for the only goal of the game.

Five years of work
Boavista's remodelled ground was inaugurated a few hours earlier, and was the culmination of five years of intense work, with the ground continuing to host matches in the intervening period.

Futuristic venue
The new-look ground, built on the same place as the old ground, has four complete new stands, and can hold 30,000 spectators. Boavista and Málaga played out a goalless draw in the first match, but Boavista president João Loureiro could still not hide his delight with the new venue, saying: "It's a stadium for the 21st century."

Group games
Both venues will stage group matches of EURO 2004™. Braga will be the venue for the games between Bulgaria and Denmark and Holland and Latvia, while Boavista's stadium will stage matches involving Greece and Spain, Latvia and Germany and Denmark and Sweden.

Jeffles · Post by **Jeffles** » Sat Jan 03, 2004 10:59 am

Bessa has been a work in progress for a few years. I think it even started before they won the campionship and before Portugal won the bid. It is a very intamite stadium.

As for Braga, it looks interesting. Can you imagine going for goal and the ball rebounds off the rock at some unknown angle. Weird.

james_ · Post by **james_** » Sat Jan 03, 2004 11:26 am

I wonder what effect the rockface will have on acoustics? Will it make a 30,000-seat stadium feel like a 40-50k seat stadium?

Are lights suspended from those cables above the pitch, in a similar way to the ones at Fed Square? That would be interesting. Light towers tend to look like giant fly swats IMO!

james_ · Post by **james_** » Fri May 28, 2004 8:50 am

With FC Porto's 3-0 win over AS Monaco in the UEFA Champions League final on Wednesday it's turning out to be a great year for Portuguese football.