Arena Coliseu Mateus Aquino (Mateus Aquino Colosseum Arena), also known as Coliseu do
Sertão
The ''sertão'' (, plural ''sertões'') is the "hinterland" or "backcountry". In Brazil, it refers both to one of the four sub-regions of the Northeast Region of Brazil (similar to the specific association of "outback" with Australia in English ...
, is a Brazilian football stadium located at the entrance to the urban area of
Alto Santo
Alto Santo is a Municipalities of Brazil, municipality in the states of Brazil, state of Ceará in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast region of Brazil.
The municipality contains the Castanhão Dam, the largest in the state, and the controvers ...
, a municipality in
Ceará
Ceará (, pronounced locally as or ) is one of the 26 states of Brazil, located in the northeastern part of the country, on the Atlantic coast. It is the eighth-largest Brazilian State by population and the 17th by area. It is also one of the ...
located in the Baixo Jaguaribe micro-region, 243 kilometers from
Fortaleza
Fortaleza (, locally , Portuguese for ''Fortress'') is the state capital of Ceará, located in Northeastern Brazil. It belongs to the Metropolitan mesoregion of Fortaleza and microregion of Fortaleza. It is Brazil's 5th largest city and the t ...
. It gained national and even international fame
for its peculiar structure and the controversy about the construction.
Construction
Inspired by the Roman
Colosseum
The Colosseum ( ; it, Colosseo ) is an oval amphitheatre in the centre of the city of Rome, Italy, just east of the Roman Forum. It is the largest ancient amphitheatre ever built, and is still the largest standing amphitheatre in the world to ...
, construction began in 2009 and cost around
BRL
The Brazilian real (plural, pl. '; currency symbol, sign: R$; ISO 4217, code: BRL) is the official currency of Brazil. It is subdivided into 100 centavos. The Central Bank of Brazil is the central bank and the issuing authority. The real repl ...
1.3 million, with BRL 827,500 being granted by the
Ministry of Sports
A Ministry of Sports or Ministry of Youth and Sports is a kind of government ministry found in certain countries with responsibility for the regulation of sports, particularly those participated in by young people.
The Ministry of Youth and Spo ...
. It was planned to hold 20,000 people, but finished with just 5,000.
Opening
The first official match at the ''Coliseu'' was in August 9 between Alto Santo Esporte Clube and União de Brejo Santo, for the debut of the 2015
Campeonato Cearense Série C
The Campeonato Cearense Série C is the third tier of the state league of Ceará, Brazil.
List of champions
;Name changes
*Uniclinic is the currently Atlético Cearense.
Titles by team
Teams in bold stills active.
By city
References ...
. The audience was only 900 people despite the low ticket price by BRL 5. The hosts won 1–0 with a goal by Valdison at 65'.
Controversy
Despite the region's
semi-arid climate
A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of semi-ar ...
and the long drought at the time,
a dam was filled in for the construction of the stadium. The lawn was the first part completed, staying six years unused, generating expenses with irrigation, fertilization and pruning.
At the beginning of the works, the city's football club was inactive because of debts,
which raised more doubts about the need for the venue. So the local authorities reactivated the Alto Santo Esporte Clube in the year of opening.
In the project, the stadium should hold 20 thousand spectators, a number greater than the population of the municipality (16 thousand at the time).
However, it was completed with only 5 thousand capacity. But the municipal government promised to complete the other 15,000, which will result in more unnecessary expenses.
Notes
References
{{Authority control
Sports venues completed in 2015
Football venues in Ceará