Pacaembu Stadium (, ; named after the Pacaembu neighbourhood), currently known as Mercado Livre Arena Pacaembu for sponsorship reasons, is an

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

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 ...

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

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 ...

. Located in the Pacaembu neighbourhood, it is owned by Municipal Prefecture of

. The stadium was inaugurated on 27 April 1940, in the presence of the Brazilian President

Getúlio Vargas Getúlio Dornelles Vargas (; ; 19 April 1882 – 24 August 1954) was a Brazilian lawyer and politician who served as the 14th and 17th president of Brazil, from 1930 to 1945 and from 1951 until his suicide in 1954. Due to his long and contr ...

, the interventor

Adhemar de Barros Adhemar Pereira de Barros (22 April 1901 – 12 March 1969) was the mayor of São Paulo (1957–1961), and twice elected Governor of São Paulo (1947–1951 & 1963–1966). Barros was born in Piracicaba, Brazil. He was the federal intervent ...

and the mayor of São Paulo, Prestes Maia. The stadium used to hold 40,199 people and its pitch dimensions are 104 m of length by 70 m of width, but is currently undergoing a renovation that will reduce capacity. Pacaembu is frequently used to host home matches of the ''Big 4'' football clubs of the State of São Paulo, of which

Corinthians The First Epistle to the Corinthians () is one of the Pauline epistles, part of the New Testament of the Christian Bible. The epistle is attributed to Paul the Apostle and a co-author, Sosthenes, and is addressed to the Christian church in C ...

Palmeiras The Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras (), commonly known as Palmeiras, is a Brazilian professional association football, football club based in the city of São Paulo, in the district of Perdizes (district of São Paulo), Perdizes. Palmeiras is ...

and

are based in the capital city itself, and only Santos is based in a different city. This occurs when the clubs must cede their own stadiums for concerts, or when reforms are being made. In the case of Santos, Pacaembu is also used when the club requires a site with a higher

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 ...

for a particular match, given the low capacity of their own stadium.

History

The first match ever played at Pacaembu Stadium took place on 27 April 1940, when Palestra Itália (now known as SE Palmeiras) defeated

Coritiba Coritiba Foot Ball Club, commonly known as Coritiba and colloquially referred to as heCoxa, is a Brazilian football club from Curitiba, capital city of the Brazilian state of Paraná. Founded in 1909 by German immigrants, it is the olde ...

, 6-2. The first goal in the stadium was scored by Coritiba's Zequinha. Later that day, Corinthians beat

Atlético Mineiro Atlético, Spanish for ''athletics'', or Athletico in English, may refer to: Sports Teams Athletico *Athletico SC (Lebanon), a Lebanese football academy *Athletic Bilbao, or Atletico Bilbao, Basque students athletic club (also forming Athletic Cl ...

4–2 on the same ground. Both matches were part of the

Taça Cidade de São Paulo The Taça Cidade de São Paulo () was a tournament organized by Federação Paulista de Futebol (FPF), reuniting the three best placed teams of previously season Campeonato Paulista The Campeonato Paulista Série A1, commonly known as Campeona ...

competition. On 4 May 1940, the Taça Cidade de São Paulo Final was played at Pacaembu Stadium. Palestra Itália beat Corinthians 2–1, becoming the first club to win a competition at the stadium. The stadium's attendance record currently stands at 71,281, set on 24 May 1942, when Corinthians and São Paulo drew 3–3. On 20 September 1942, Palmeiras played its first match after changing its name from Palestra Itália. Palmeiras beat São Paulo 3–1, winning that year's

Campeonato Paulista The Campeonato Paulista Série A1, commonly known as Campeonato Paulista, nicknamed Paulistão, is the top-flight professional state football league in the Brazilian state of São Paulo. Run by the São Paulo State Football Federation (FPF), ...

. In 1945, São Paulo beat Jabaquara 12–1 at Pacaembu Stadium. This remains the highest-scoring match in the stadium's history. In 2005, the stadium served as the first "Pit Stop" of ''

The Amazing Race 9 ''The Amazing Race 9'' is the ninth season of the American reality competition show ''The Amazing Race (American TV series), The Amazing Race.'' Hosted by Phil Keoghan, it featured eleven teams of two, each with a pre-existing relationship, comp ...

''. On 11 May 2007,

Pope Benedict XVI Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as p ...

met with the youth of Brazil at the stadium as a part of his Apostolic Journey to Brazil on the occasion of the Fifth General Conference of the Bishops of Latin America and the Caribbean. Until the opening of

Arena Corinthians Arena Corinthians, also known as the Neo Química Arena for sponsorship reasons, is a sports stadium located in São Paulo, Brazil. It is owned, operated, and used by the team Corinthians. It has a seating capacity of , making it the fifth-l ...

in 2014, Corinthians played most of their home matches at Pacaembu, since their original stadium did not meet the requirements for hosting official football matches. Between July 2010 and November 2014, the stadium was the temporary home ground of Palmeiras while

Allianz Parque Allianz Parque (), also known as Arena Palmeiras or as Arena Palestra Itália, is a football stadium in Água Branca, São Paulo, Brazil, and the home of Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras, Palmeiras. The stadium also serves as a multipurpose arena ...

was under construction.

Reconstruction

1950 FIFA World Cup

Six

1950 FIFA World Cup The 1950 FIFA World Cup was the 4th edition of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international Association football, football championship for senior men's national teams. It was held in Brazil from 24 June to 16 July 1950. It was the first Wo ...

matches were played at Estádio do Pacaembu, which were:

Concerts

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained global fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and the piano, and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John ...

performed in front of 45,000 fans in 1993, during his New World Tour. * On January 27, 28 and 30, 1995, the

Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...

performed three sold-out concerts at Pacaembu, to a total audience of 170,000 people. * The

Red Hot Chili Peppers The Red Hot Chili Peppers are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1982, consisting of Anthony Kiedis (vocals), Flea (musician), Flea (bass), John Frusciante (guitar), and Chad Smith (drums). Their music incorporates elements of a ...

performed at the stadium in 2002 on their By The Way Tour. *

Avril Lavigne Avril Ramona Lavigne ( ; ; born September 27, 1984) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. She is a key musician in popularizing pop-punk music, as she paved the way for female-driven, punk-influenced pop music in the early 2000s. List of awa ...

's 2005 Bonez Tour made a stop here, in front of 40,000 fans. *

Eric Clapton Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English Rock music, rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s l ...

performed in front of 60,000 fans in 2001, during his Reptile World Tour. * Brazilian singer

Roberto Carlos Roberto Carlos da Silva Rocha (born 10 April 1973), often known as Roberto Carlos and sometimes ''RC3'', is a Brazilian former professional association football, footballer. He has been described as the "most offensive-minded left-back in the ...

performed at the stadium in a 2001 concert. * Heavy metal band

Iron Maiden Iron Maiden are an English Heavy metal music, heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris (musician), Steve Harris. Although fluid in the early years of the band, the line-up for most ...

has made two stops at the venue: in 1996 and 2004 each time performing for 60,000 fans. *

Pearl Jam Pearl Jam is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. One of the key bands in the grunge, grunge movement of the early 1990s, Pearl Jam has outsold and outlasted many of its contemporaries from the early 1990s, ...

performed at the stadium on December 2 and 3 in 2005 on their Pearl Jam 2005 North American/Latin American Tour in front of more than 80,000 fans.

Museum

On 29 September 2008, the Museu do Futebol (Museum of Football) was inaugurated. It was created to tell the history of Brazilian football. The museum covers , it was built at a cost of R$32.5 million, and is located below the stadium's bleachers. The 680 workers hired to build the museum completed the construction in 13 months.

References

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

External links

Santos FCPacaembu
(in Portuguese)
Inauguration
(in Portuguese) {{DEFAULTSORT:Pacaembu Football venues in São Paulo Sports venues in São Paulo Pan American Games opening ceremony stadiums Tourist attractions in São Paulo Sports venues completed in 1940 1940 establishments in Brazil Art Deco architecture in Brazil