Estádio José Alvalade

Origin

The previous José Alvalade Stadium was opened on 10 June 1956. Plans by Sporting CP to modernize the club in the late 1990s coincided with the decision to award Portugal the right to host UEFA Euro 2004, but the decision to build a new stadium, was made before. The construction began on 15 January 2001. The club's statutes dictated that the stadium would be called Estádio José Alvalade. It would be the club's seventh stadium.

History

The stadium is the center of a complex called Alvalade XXI, designed by Portuguese architect Tomás Taveira, which includes a mall called Alvaláxia with a 12-screen movie theater, a health club, the club's museum, a sports pavilion, a clinic, and an office building. The new Alvalade stadium cost €184 million to build, around €80 million more than originally planned, of which €17,907,915 was supported from the Portuguese state. On the exterior, the stadium featured multicoloured tiles which were later removed. In 2021, Sporting CP announced that it would change the colour of the seats in the multicoloured stands of Estádio José Alvalade to green (the main colour of the sports club). The colour change was completed in 2022. Originally the seats were arranged in a random-looking mosaic of mixed colours, however during its second decade of use these were all gradually changed to dark green, with the roof support towers and access stairways, initially bright yellow, also repainted green in 2011.

Although it eventually received a fifth star becoming a UEFA 5-star stadium, it was initially classified by UEFA as a 4-star stadium. The stadium – originally projected to hold 42,000 spectators at any given time – has a capacity of 50,095 and was acoustically engineered as a venue for major concerts. The stadium has also a total of 1,315 underground parking spaces, including 30 for disabled spectators.

The new stadium official opening was on 6 August 2003 when Sporting played and beat Manchester United 3–1. Luís Filipe scored the first-ever goal at the new Estádio José Alvalade in that friendly win against Manchester United playing alongside Sporting Portugal's teammate Cristiano Ronaldo, then aged 18, who made his last appearance for the Portuguese club on that same day.

The stadium hosted five matches of UEFA Euro 2004, one of them being the semi-final between Portugal and the Netherlands, which Portugal won 2–1. In May 2005, the stadium was upgraded to 5-star stadium status by UEFA, the same month it hosted the 2005 UEFA Cup Final between Sporting and CSKA Moscow, which CSKA Moscow won 3–1.

It hosted quarter-finals and semi-finals matches during the 2019–20 UEFA Champions League.

On May 24, 2025 it hosted the 2025 UEFA Women's Champions League final.{{Cite web|last=UEFA.com|title=UEFA Women’s Champions League Final 2025: DAZN on plans and challenges for the Arsenal vs Barcelona face off|url=https://www.svgeurope.org/blog/headlines/uefa-womens-champions-league-final-2025-dazn-on-plans-and-challenges-for-the-arsenal-v-barcelona-face-off/ |access-date=2025-05-24|website=svgeurope.org|language=en}}

The stadium is one of the potential venues for the 2030 FIFA World Cup which Portugal will co-host along with Morocco and Spain.

Renovation

The stadium has been undergoing minor renovations since 2021. However, the major and most anticipated project, the removal of the moat, was completed in time for the start of the 2025–26 season in 2025, allowing for the addition of 2,000 additional seats. Other significant improvements included the removal of the original video screens, which will be replaced by new LED panels on the balconies dividing the stadium rings, freeing up additional seats and new Exclusive Access Lounges with access to a bar and diverse gourmet dining experiences. With the completed work, capacity increased to 52,095 seats.

International matches

Portugal national team matches

The following national team matches were held in the stadium.

UEFA Euro 2004

Notable matches

First match

2005 UEFA Cup Final

2025 UEFA Women's Champions League Final

Seating distribution

• Disabled Seats – 50
• Skybox Seats – 1,542
• VIP and Business Seats – 1,968
• Tribune Seats – 100
• Public Seats (Level A) – 24,261
• Public Seats (Level B) – 21,970
• Press Seats – 204

Transport

The Stadium is served by the Campo Grande station of the Lisbon Metro and a bus terminal served by several companies. The Segunda Circular, a major ring road of Lisbon, runs close by and the stadium can be reached via the exit Estádio de Alvalade. There are several car parks around the stadium.

It is a relatively short distance (3 km) from the Estádio da Luz, homeground of rivals S.L. Benfica.

References

References

1. Lusa. (2015-06-27). "Novo estádio de Alvalade custou mais 80 milhões do que inicialmente previsto".
2. "Alvalade com recorde de assistência no triunfo do Sporting frente ao PSG".
3. "A inauguração do Estádio José Alvalade em 1956".
4. (2015-07-09). "Stadium History".
5. (2014-11-26). "Estádio José Alvalade".
6. Porto Editora – Estádio Alvalade XXI na Infopédia [em linha]. Porto: Porto Editora. [consult. 2023-09-02 17:32:31]. Disponível em https://www.infopedia.pt/recursos/lendas-portuguesas/$estadio-alvalade-xxi
7. "Arquiteto do Estádio de Alvalade lamenta troca de cadeiras: "Ficará abaixo de deprimente"".
8. "Estádio Alvalade XXI".
9. Lusa. (2015-06-27). "Novo estádio de Alvalade custou mais 80 milhões do que inicialmente previsto".
10. [https://repositorium.sdum.uminho.pt/bitstream/1822/2761/1/19%20Final%20Report%20EURO%202004.pdf Relatório Final - Avaliação do impacte económico do Euro 2004], Universidade do Minho em 30 de Novembro de 2024.
11. "Sporting com casa nova: cadeiras verdes prontas este mês - Sporting - Jornal Record".
12. [https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/news-photo/tottenham-hotspur-fc-players-in-action-during-the-warm-up-news-photo/1423528312 Sporting CP v Tottenham Hotspur - Group D - UEFA Champions League], Getty Images, 13 September 2022
13. "UEFA 5 Star Stadiums – StadiumDB.com".
14. (2014-11-26). "Estádio José Alvalade".
15. "O último jogo de Cristiano Ronaldo no Sporting foi há 15 anos {{!}} Vídeo".
16. (2017-09-17). "Último campeão por Sporting e Benfica dedica-se às framboesas".
17. (6 August 2018). "Há 15 anos, Ronaldo convenceu Ferguson a assinar o "casamento perfeito"". [[Diário de Notícias]].
18. (2014-11-26). "Estádio José Alvalade".
19. UEFA.com. "Draws".
20. "Alvalade 2.0: o que está feito... e o que falta fazer".
21. "Google Maps".