The Estádio Presidente Vargas, nicknamed ''PV'', is a multi-purpose stadium located in
Fortaleza
Fortaleza ( ; ; ) is the state capital of Ceará, located in Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeastern Brazil. It is Brazil's 4th largest city—Fortaleza surpassed Salvador, Bahia, Salvador in 2022 census with a population of slightly over 2.4 mi ...
,
Ceará
Ceará (, ) is one of the 26 states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, northeastern part of the country, on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. It is the List of Brazilian states by population, eighth-largest Brazilian State by ...
,
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 ...
. It is currently used mostly for
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 ...
matches and also sometimes for
American football
American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...
matches. The venue is the home of
América Football Club (CE),
Fortaleza
Fortaleza ( ; ; ) is the state capital of Ceará, located in Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeastern Brazil. It is Brazil's 4th largest city—Fortaleza surpassed Salvador, Bahia, Salvador in 2022 census with a population of slightly over 2.4 mi ...
,
Ferroviário Atlético Clube and
Associação Esportiva Tiradentes. The stadium has a capacity of 20,000 and it was built in 1941. The stadium is owned by the Fortaleza City Hall and it is named after Brazilian president
Getúlio Vargas.
The stadium was the largest stadium in Fortaleza until 1973 when the
Castelão stadium was inaugurated.
History
The Presidente Vargas Stadium was built in 1941 and was considered a modern facility at the time. The stadium was walled, had wooden grandstands and a wooden fence separating the field from fans, and a grass pitch (until then all fields in the city had clay which was moistened before games). This stadium was officially opened on September 14 of 1941, but the first match took place a week later, on September 21, when
Ferroviário beat
Tramways of
Pernambuco
Pernambuco ( , , ) is a States of Brazil, state of Brazil located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast region of the country. With an estimated population of 9.5 million people as of 2024, it is the List of Brazilian states by population, ...
1–0.
Attendance
The stadium's attendance record currently stands at 38,515, set on May 7, 1989, when
Ferroviário and
Ceará
Ceará (, ) is one of the 26 states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, northeastern part of the country, on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. It is the List of Brazilian states by population, eighth-largest Brazilian State by ...
drew 1-1. But there are records of an audience of 41,099 in the game Ceará 0-1 Corinthians Brazilian Championship in 1971 but there is no confirmation that this has been official. Currently, due to renovations in the stadium and the strictest safety standards, the capacity was reduced to 22,000 spectators.
Renovation
Between February 2008 and April 2011, the stadium was banned from making a series of improvements. The work, budgeted at R $48 million, foresaw the reconstruction of the roof over the social chairs, radio and TV booths, in addition to the renovation of the historic facade, the tunnels and access ramps, the changing rooms, the administration rooms, the parking lot and the press room, as well as the installation of an electronic scoreboard and glass fencing. The renovation of the Presidente Vargas stadium also included changing the entire electrical and hydro-sanitary system, the chairs and structural beams, and a new pitch.
Initially, of the newly installed seats, 8% were orange and the others blue. However, the two juxtaposed colors were relatively reminiscent of the colors of
Fortaleza Esporte Clube
Fortaleza Esporte Clube () is a Brazilian multi-sport club based in Fortaleza, capital of the state of Ceará. Founded in 18 October 1918, primarily a football club, is active in other sports such as futsal, handball and basketball. The club's ...
, thus generating disagreement between some fans of rival
Ceará Sporting Club
Ceará Sporting Club, or simply Ceará, () is a Brazilian Football League Teams, Brazilian professional football club from the city of Fortaleza, capital city of the States of Brazil, Brazilian state of Ceará.
Founded on June 2, 1914, Cear ...
. To avoid future problems, the 522 orange chairs were removed and transferred to the
Estadio Antony Costa, which was also under renovation at the time. Blue chairs replaced the withdrawn seats.
The ''PV'' was the main stadium of football in Ceará until the reopening of Castelão, in 2013, after the remodeling for the
FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...
and
FIFA Confederations Cup
The FIFA Confederations Cup was an international association football tournament for men's national teams, held every four years by FIFA. It was contested by the holders of each of the six continental championships ( AFC, CAF, CONCACAF, CONMEBO ...
. The ''Caldeirão'' was also one of the training centers for the
2014 World Cup and the
2013 Confederations Cup.
The stadium has the tradition of receiving the greatest rivalries of Ceará football, such as the King Clasico (Ceará vs Fortaleza), the Peace Clasico (Ferroviário vs Ceará) and the Clasico of Colors (Fortaleza vs Ferroviário). In addition to such games, the stadium has also hosted games of the
Copa do Brasil
The Copa do Brasil () is a knockout football competition played by 92 teams, representing all 26 Brazilian states plus the Federal District. It is the Brazilian domestic cup and it is the Brazilian equivalent of the FA Cup, Taça de Portugal, ...
, and the
Série B and
Série C, the 2nd and 3rd divisions of the
Brazilian league system.
References
*''Enciclopédia do Futebol Brasileiro'', Volume 2 - Lance, Rio de Janeiro: Aretê Editorial S/A, 2001.
External links
Templos do Futebol
{{Campeonato Brasileiro Série C venues
Sports venues completed in 1941
Football venues in Ceará
Sports venues in Ceará
Ferroviário Atlético Clube (CE)