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The Estádio do Dragão (; ') is an all-seater
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 ...
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
Porto Porto (), also known in English language, English as Oporto, is the List of cities in Portugal, second largest city in Portugal, after Lisbon. It is the capital of the Porto District and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto c ...
, Portugal, and the home ground of
FC Porto Futebol Clube do Porto, Order of Prince Henry, MHIH, Order of Merit (Portugal), OM (), commonly known as FC Porto or simply Porto, is a Portuguese professional sports club based in Porto. It is best known for the professional association footbal ...
since 2003. It has a
seating capacity Seating capacity is the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, in terms of both the physical space available and limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that ...
of 50,033, making it the third-largest football stadium in Portugal. Designed by Portuguese architect Manuel Salgado, the stadium was constructed to replace Porto's former ground, the Estádio das Antas, along with becoming one of the host venues for the
UEFA Euro 2004 The 2004 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 2004, was the 12th edition of the UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial association football, football competition contested by the List of men's national associatio ...
final tournament. The inauguration took place on 16 November 2003 with a friendly match against
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, setting an attendance record of 52,000 spectators. A UEFA category four stadium, it has held several international club and national team competition matches, including the 2019 UEFA Nations League Final and
2021 UEFA Champions League Final The 2021 UEFA Champions League final was the final match of the 2020–21 UEFA Champions League, the 66th season of Europe's premier club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 29th season since it was renamed from the European Cup to th ...
. The stadium is one of the potential venues for the
2030 FIFA World Cup The 2030 FIFA World Cup will be the 24th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial international football tournament contested by the men's national teams of the member associations of FIFA. Three countries will host the competition, representing, for the ...
which Portugal will co-host along with Morocco and Spain.


Construction and inauguration

Construction works began in late 2001, and were completed 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 Jorge Nuno de Lima Pinto da Costa (28 December 1937 – 15 February 2025) () was a Portuguese sports executive, who was president of Portuguese sports club FC Porto, Porto from 1982 until 2024. He was the president with most titles won (69) in t ...
, 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 €125 million to build, of which €18,076,409 was supported from the Portuguese state. To help underwrite costs, each stand carries one or two sponsor names: Super Bock (south), tmn (east), meo (west), and
Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a cola soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. In 2013, Coke products were sold in over 200 countries and territories worldwide, with consumers drinking more than 1.8 billion company beverage servings ...
(north stand). Away fans are placed in the right corner of the upper tier of the east 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 Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly known as FC Barcelona and colloquially as Barça (), is a professional Football club (association football), football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of ...
, which featured the debut of a 16-year-old
Lionel Messi Lionel Andrés "Leo" Messi (; born 24 June 1987) is an Argentine professional Association football, footballer who plays as a forward (association football), forward for and Captain (association football), captains both Major League Soccer ...
in the Spanish 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. The stadium is characterized by a frame of 21 000 m2 of azulejos.


Naming

Prior to the inauguration, the stadium's name was debated internally between elements of Porto's administration, with various alternatives in consideration, such as retaining the old name, Estádio das Antas (officially, unlike the former stadium), or name it after some of the club's biggest historical figures like former player Artur de Sousa Pinga, manager José Maria Pedroto or president
Jorge Nuno Pinto da Costa Jorge Nuno de Lima Pinto da Costa (28 December 1937 – 15 February 2025) () was a Portuguese sports executive, who was president of Portuguese sports club FC Porto, Porto from 1982 until 2024. He was the president with most titles won (69) in t ...
, the latter being, the one with most gathered consensus but ended dismissed by the president himself. After a deliberation period, the name Estádio do Dragão was revealed to the general public.


International matches


Portugal national team matches

The following
national team A national sports team (commonly known as a national team or a national side) is a team that represents a nation, rather than a particular club or region, in an international sport. The term is most commonly associated with team sports, for exa ...
matches were held in the stadium.


UEFA Euro 2004

Constructed to become one of the venues of the
UEFA Euro 2004 The 2004 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 2004, was the 12th edition of the UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial association football, football competition contested by the List of men's national associatio ...
tournament, it staged the inaugural match between hosts
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 ...
and eventual winners
Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...
, as well as three group stage, one quarterfinal, and one semifinal fixtures.


2019 UEFA Nations League Finals

One of the venues of the 2019 UEFA Nations League Finals.


2021 UEFA Champions League Final

The final originally planned at the Atatürk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul, but was moved due to travel restrictions by England government caused by the COVID-19 pandemic in Turkey, the final hosts were shifted back a two-year, with Istanbul instead hosting the 2023 final. Chelsea FC won the match 1–0 against Manchester City, with Kai Havertz scoring the only goal.


Other uses

A major source of income granted by the infrastructure is the planned capability to monetize on organizing events outside of regular football matches. Those extend from business meetings, congresses, summits, festivals, expos and other sports competitions. For example, the ROC committee picked the stadium to host the 2009 Race of Champions South Europe Regional Final, therefore, the grass pitch was converted into an asphalt course in order to accommodate the race. The 2019 ESSMA Summit is also noteworthy by having joined several clubs, leagues and federations representatives together at the venue to discuss matters on the developments and trends of the football industry. In addition, through different music promoters and specialized event management companies, the stadium already served as a concert venue to four international tour schedules from recognized musical artists along with selected opening acts.


Access and transportation

Access by
vehicle A vehicle () is a machine designed for self-propulsion, usually to transport people, cargo, or both. The term "vehicle" typically refers to land vehicles such as human-powered land vehicle, human-powered vehicles (e.g. bicycles, tricycles, velo ...
is possible through the VCI (''Via de Cintura Interna''), a roadway that passes right next to the stadium, granting a direct connection. In the event of coming from the city center, driving down the main Alameda da Antas is another viable route towards the destination. In spite of this, the recommendation is the use of the
public transport Public transport (also known as public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) are forms of transport available to the general public. It typically uses a fixed schedule, route and charges a fixed fare. There is no rigid definition of whic ...
s, which results in a better flux of public movement around the perimeter. Having its own station combined with the infrastructure, the metro functions as the main way of reaching the stadium, with different lines linking the various city areas and a direct connection to the international Francisco Sá Carneiro Airport. Alternatively, the STCP bus service also grants routes for the purpose and there are 150 bicycle parking spots available.


See also

*
Lists of stadiums The following are lists of stadiums throughout the world. Note that horse racing and motorsport venues are not included at some pages, because those are not stadiums but sports venues. Combined lists *List of stadiums by capacity * List of c ...


References


Bibliography

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External links


Estádio do Dragão Official websiteEstádio do Dragão
at
Structurae Structurae is an online database containing pictures and information about structural engineering, structural and civil engineering works, and their associated engineers, architects, and builders. Overview Structurae was founded in 1998 by Nico ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Estadio do Dragao FC Porto Dragao Sports venues in Porto Football in Porto Sports venues completed in 2003