The Estádio Governador João Castelo, also known as the Castelão, is a

multi-purpose stadium A multi-purpose stadium is a type of stadium designed to be easily used by multiple types of events. While any stadium could potentially host more than one type of sport or event, this concept usually refers to a specific design philosophy tha ...

inaugurated on March 9, 1975, in São Luís,

Maranhão Maranhão () is a state in Brazil. Located in the country's Northeast Region, it has a population of about 7 million and an area of . Clockwise from north, it borders on the Atlantic Ocean for 2,243 km and the states of Piauí, Tocantins and ...

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

, with a maximum capacity of 40,000 people in a three-tier configuration. The stadium is owned by the Maranhão state Government, and is the home ground of

Sampaio Corrêa Futebol Clube Sampaio Corrêa Futebol Clube, commonly referred to as Sampaio Corrêa, is a Brazilian professional club based in São Luís, Maranhão founded on 25 March 1923. It competes in the Campeonato Brasileiro Série B, the second tier of Brazilian ...

, Moto Club and

. Its formal name honors João Castelo Ribeiro Gonçalves (1937–2016), Maranhão governor from 1979 to 1982.

History

Castelão was completed in 1982 and was inaugurated on February 5 of that year, 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 The Copa CONMEBOL ( en, CONMEBOL Cup) was an annual football cup competition organized by CONMEBOL between 1992 and 1999 for South American football clubs. During its time of existence, it was a very prestigious South American club football contes ...

match broke the previously attendance record, which was 95,000 people (Moto Club 3-1 Sampaio Corrêa, played in 1987).

References

*''Enciclopédia do Futebol Brasileiro'', Volume 2 - Lance, Rio de Janeiro: Aretê Editorial S/A, 2001.

External links

Templos do Futebol
Football venues in Maranhão Sports venues in Maranhão Multi-purpose stadiums in Brazil Maranhão Atlético Clube Sampaio Corrêa Futebol Clube Moto Club de São Luís {{Brazil-sports-venue-stub