Estádio do Sport Lisboa e Benfica
Friday, April 11, 2014
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Built to stage the UEFA EURO 2004 final, SL Benfica's Lisbon home is next door to the site of the previous Estádio da Luz.
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UEFA Capacity: 61,000
Record attendance: 65,400 (2-1 v Club Nacional de Football on 25/10/2003)
Opened: 2003
• SL Benfica's home since 2003, the replacement for the old 'Estádio da Luz' was built next to the site of the old one, their home for the previous 49 years: a 120,000-capacity venue affectionately known as the Cathedral.
• It was inaugurated in October 2003, Nuno Gomes scoring both goals in a 2-1 win against Uruguayan team Nacional played before a crowd of 65,400 – it remains a record.
• Less than a year later it hosted the UEFA EURO 2004 final as Greece beat Portugal 1-0 a decade before the UEFA Champions League final came to the arena; the old Luz never hosted a UEFA club decider.
• The original ground is named after the Nossa Senhora da Luz (Our Lady of the Light), an annual religious festival held in Lisbon. Lisbon itself is known as the 'Cidade da Luz' (City of Light).
• Like the old one, the venue is officially named the Estádio do Sport Lisboa e Benfica, and witnessed its second title in 2010 as the Eagles beat Rio Ave FC 2-1 in front of 64,103 supporters to clinch the championship.
• Architect Damon Lavelle designed the stadium to live up to its name. The polycarbonate roof, supported by 43m-high arches, allows the sun's rays to penetrate it, lighting the stadium while appearing to float on the underlying stands.