The Estádio Cidade de Barcelos is a multi-use

stadium A stadium (: stadiums or stadia) is a place or venue for (mostly) outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage completely or partially surrounded by a tiered structure designed to allow spectators to stand or sit ...

in Barcelos,

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

. It is mostly used for

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

matches. It is the home of

Primeira Liga The Primeira Liga (), also known as Liga Portugal Betclic for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Portugal and the highest level of the Portuguese football league system. Organised and supervised by the Liga ...

side

Gil Vicente Gil Vicente (; c. 1465c. 1536), called the Trobadour, was a Portuguese playwright and poet who acted in and directed his own plays. Considered the chief dramatist of Portugal he is sometimes called the "Portuguese Plautus," often refe ...

. The stadium is able to hold 12,046 people and was built in 2004. It replaced Estadio Adelino Ribeiro Novo which was Gil's home ground from its establishment in the 1920s until 2004. The stadium is a

UEFA The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; ; ) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs football, futsal and beach soccer, beach football in Europe and the List of transcontinental countries#A ...

Category 3 ground which allows for European and international games to be played there.

History

The Old Field,

Estádio Adelino Ribeiro Novo Estádio Adelino Ribeiro Novo is a multi-use stadium in Barcelos, Portugal. It was used mostly for football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a ...

, was Gil Vicente's home for around 70 years, where they played their matches as visitors and where some of the most remarkable episodes in the history of this popular club certainly took place. The truth is that the conditions offered by the Adelino Ribeiro Novo pitch were quite limited and obviously not in line with the demands of professional football, nor with Gil Vicente's ambitions or the image of the city of Barcelos. Therefore, the local authority decided to build a new sports complex that included a modern football stadium. Thus, the Cidade de Barcelos Stadium was built in the parish of Vila Boa in the municipality of Barcelos, to the north of the city, for an amount close to 22 million euros, including exterior fittings and the purchase of the land. The stadium was officially inaugurated on 30 May 2004, in a friendly football match between

and Nacional Montevideo from

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

, the second choice after Santos from

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

, in which the Gilistas were defeated 2–1 in front of 4,984 people. However, the Barcelos City Council decided to hold a ‘second inauguration', with a concert by

Julio Iglesias Julio José Iglesias de la Cueva (; born 23 September 1943) is a Spanish singer and songwriter. Iglesias is recognized as the most commercially successful Spanish singer in the world and one of the top List of best-selling music artists, reco ...

on 2 July 2004, which turned out to be a failure, with attendance falling far short of what was expected. It held two matches of the

2006 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship 2006 UEFA European Under-21 Championship was the 15th staging of UEFA's European Under-21 Championship. In December 2005, Portugal was selected to host the finals of the competition, which took place from 23 May–4 June 2006. The tournament was w ...

Serbia & Montenegro The State Union of Serbia and Montenegro or simply Serbia and Montenegro, known until 2003 as the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and commonly referred to as FR Yugoslavia (FRY) or simply Yugoslavia, was a country in Southeast Europe locate ...

0–1

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

and

0–2

Portugal national team matches

The Portuguese National Team have played one match at this stadium.

References

External links

Stadium profile
Barcelos Gil Vicente F.C. Sports venues in Braga District Buildings and structures in Barcelos, Portugal Sport in Barcelos, Portugal Sports venues completed in 2004 2004 establishments in Portugal {{Portugal-sports-venue-stub

History

Portugal national team matches

See also

References

External links