Estádio do Dragão

Estádio do Dragão

Location Porto, Portugal
Coordinates 41°09′42″N 8°35′02″W / 41.161758°N 8.583933°W / 41.161758; -8.583933Coordinates: 41°09′42″N 8°35′02″W / 41.161758°N 8.583933°W / 41.161758; -8.583933
Public transit Estádio do Dragão metro station
Owner FC Porto
Operator Porto Estádio (FC Porto Group)
Executive suites 96
Capacity 52,000[1]
Record attendance 52,000
(Porto vs Barcelona, 16 November 2003)
Surface Grass (RED)
Scoreboard Two 48-square-metre (520 sq ft) SLite 10 LED screens (Samsung)
Construction
Opened 16 November 2003[2]
Construction cost €98 million
Architect Manuel Salgado
General contractor Somague
Tenants
FC Porto (2003–present)
Website
Estádio do Dragão

The Estádio do Dragão (Portuguese pronunciation: [(ɨ)ˈʃtadiu du dɾɐˈɣɐ̃w]; Dragon Stadium) is an all-seater football stadium located in Porto, Portugal, and the current home ground of Futebol Clube do Porto. It has a capacity of 52,000,[3] making it the second largest football ground in Portugal.

Designed by Portuguese architect Manuel Salgado, the stadium was built to replace Porto's previous ground, the Estádio das Antas, and was inaugurated on 16 November 2003 with a friendly match against Barcelona, which set an attendance record of 52,000 spectators.[4] A UEFA category four stadium, it hosted UEFA Euro 2004 matches, including the opening, and has held several other international club competition and national team matches. It has also served as a concert venue to international musical artists, such as Coldplay, Muse and The Rolling Stones.

Construction and inauguration

Construction works began in late 2001, and were complete in November 2003, some months after what was expected, since in February 2002, Porto mayor Rui Rio changed the estate distribution, criticizing the plan for including high-scale housing and shopping for the area. These actions forced the chairman of FC Porto, Jorge Nuno Pinto da Costa, to halt all building operations, which were only resumed after a consensus was reached.

Designed by Portuguese architect Manuel Salgado and built by Portuguese contractor Somague, it cost €97,755,318, of which €18,430,956 was subsidized by the government. To help underwrite costs, each stand carries one or two sponsor names: Super Bock (south), tmn (east), meo (west), and Coca-Cola (north stand). Away fans are placed in the left corner of the north stand, while home Ultra groups, Super Dragões and Colectivo Ultras 95, occupy the south stand and the north stand, respectively, like on the old stadium.

The stadium was inaugurated on November 16, 2003, with a match against FC Barcelona, which featured the debut of a 16-year-old Lionel Messi in the Catalan side. Porto won 2–0 with goals by Derlei and Hugo Almeida. Due to severe turf problems, however, Porto was forced to return and play in the old Estádio das Antas, until the turf was replanted by mid-February 2004.

Panorama of a stadium as seen from one of the main stands
Panorama of the stadium

Naming

The stadium's name is derived from the presence of a dragon on the club's crest, which is composed of an old stitched leather football under the city's coat of arms. It is also the nickname of the club's football team. Other alternatives were considered, such as keeping the old name, Estádio das Antas (officially, unlike the former stadium), or name after former player Pinga, former manager José Maria Pedroto, or president Pinto da Costa (holding office since 1982).

International matches

Portugal national team

The following national team matches were held in the stadium.

# Date Score Opponent Competition
1. 12 June 2004 1–2  Greece Euro 2004 Group Stage
2. 12 October 2005 3–0  Latvia 2006 World Cup qualification
3. 21 November 2007 0–0  Finland Euro 2008 qualifying
4. 28 March 2009 0–0  Sweden 2010 World Cup qualification
5. 8 October 2010 3–1  Denmark Euro 2012 qualifying
6. 7 October 2011 5–3  Iceland Euro 2012 qualifying
7. 16 October 2012 1–1  Northern Ireland 2014 World Cup qualification
8. 29 May 2016 3–0  Norway Friendly

Euro 2004

Constructed to become one of the venues of the UEFA Euro 2004 tournament, it staged the inaugural match between hosts Portugal and eventual winners Greece, as well as three group stage, one quarterfinal, and one semifinal fixtures.

Date Result Round
12 June 2004  Portugal 1–2  Greece Group A
15 June 2004  Germany 1–1  Netherlands Group D
18 June 2004  Italy 1–1  Sweden Group C
27 June 2004  Czech Republic 3–0  Denmark Quarter-finals
1 July 2004  Greece 1–0 (aet)  Czech Republic Semi-finals

Other uses

The stadium further cemented its reputation as an all-round sports and entertainment venue when it hosted the Portuguese leg of The Rolling Stones 2006 world tour, and the 2009 Race of Champions South Europe finals. In 2012 it hosted the kick-off to Coldplay's Mylo Xyloto Tour 2nd European leg. On June 10, 2013, Muse performed at the stadium as part of their The 2nd Law Tour. Also, One Direction brought their Where We Are Tour (One Direction) to the stadium in July 2014.

Date Act
18 July 2004 Deep Purple
12 August 2006 The Rolling Stones
18 May 2012 Coldplay
10 June 2013 Muse
13 July 2014 One Direction

Transportation

Estadio do Dragao Station

The stadium is served by its own metro station (Estádio do Dragão) along lines A, B, E and F, which link it to the city centre and international airport. It is also served by bus (routes 401, 700, 800, 801, 806 and 7M) and taxis.

References

  1. ↑ "Estádio do Dragão – História" (in Portuguese). FC Porto.
  2. ↑ http://www.worldofstadiums.com/europe/portugal/estadio-do-dragao/
  3. ↑ "Estádio do Dragão – História" (in Portuguese). FC Porto.
  4. ↑ Bandeira, João Pedro (2012). Bíblia do FC Porto (in Portuguese). Lisbon: Prime Books. p. 128. ISBN 9789896551544.
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