Estadio da Luz (SL Benfica Stadium)

The "Estádio da Luz" it's the home stadium of the Portuguese football giants SL Benfica. Opened in October 25th 2003, this stadium is the result of a troubled period in the club's life. It's construction involved many argues and debate, since it implicated the demolition of the old mythic stadium with the same name, where different generations of Benfica supporters lived unforgettable moments among crowds up to 120,000 people!
The ...
...the old one, and for many Benfica fans this stadium is the modern reincarnation of the old one. With 65,000 covered seats, this facility offers to the football fans enormous comfort with plenty of leisure places. Estádio da Luz has all that it takes to host finals of UEFA's club competitions. Two giant screens, 156 company boxes, 55 bars, two panoramic restaurants, a business centre, a company centre, two health clubs, special areas for the disabled, ... more

The "Estádio da Luz" it's the home stadium of the Portuguese football giants SL Benfica. Opened in October 25th 2003, this stadium is the result of a troubled period in the club's life. It's construction involved many argues and debate, since it implicated the demolition of the old mythic stadium with the same name, where different generations of Benfica supporters lived unforgettable moments among crowds up to 120,000 people!
The ground where the new stadium was built is next to the old one, and for many Benfica fans this stadium is the modern reincarnation of the old one. With 65,000 covered seats, this facility offers to the football fans enormous comfort with plenty of leisure places. Estádio da Luz has all that it takes to host finals of UEFA's club competitions. Two giant screens, 156 company boxes, 55 bars, two panoramic restaurants, a business centre, a company centre, two health clubs, special areas for the disabled, and a VIP and presidential suite, are some of its most important features. A ring road around the stadium is another pleasant feature of it.
The whole complex includes two sports pavilions (for basket, roller hochey, volleyball, five-a-side football, handball and other sports), swimming pools, a commercial area (adidas, media market, coffee shops, a club store and other more) and restaurants (inside the stadium and in the adjacent complex).
Its beautiful red arches seems to be holding the stadium cover, gives the stadium a gigantic look. The huge stone sculpted eagle at the entrance and Eusébio's (the greatest Portuguese player ever, who scored more than 600 goals for Benfica) statue are other interesting spots.
In 2004, the year that marked the centenary of SL Benfica and the 50th anniversary of the previous Estádio da Luz, the new stadium has been chosen as the venue for the final of UEFA EURO 2004 where Portugal lost to Greece.
It's considered a 5 STARS Stadium by UEFA.

Architect: Damon Lavelle for the Hock Sports company.

Visiting the stadium:

You can visit the stadium everyday, from 10 AM to 5 PM for 7,50 euros. This tour to the stadium includes a visit to the club museum and the surrounding facilities!
This visit takes approximately 1 hour and is full of emotions for all football lovers! You'll enter the stadium trough the main entrance and go directly to the VIP and presidential suite, were you're going to hear some interesting information about the stadium and admire it from the better seats!
From there you go the locker room, where you can see the home man shirts hang in each locker, the showers and massaging place. Near the locker room there are small training rooms with artificial grass where players can warm up and do some training.
The visit follows trough the interior of the stadium to the press conference room, where you can take pictures as if you were being presented as a Benfica player! Then you enter the pitch by the tunnel the players usually use and have the chance to step the grass, seat in the bench and take a walk. In here you'll have a magnificent moment along with "Vitória" the real eagle that makes astonishing flights every time there is a match in the stadium, making the crowd go crazy! You'll see a small flight of her, and you can take some pictures at her side (the treater is always holding her). The visit follows to the two pavilions and the swimming pool complex, and then ends at the club museum!
The exhibition in this museum only contains the one hundred most important trophies the club won on football. There are thousands of other trophies waiting for a larger place to be shown! It's a very beautiful exhibition, where you can admire, among others, the two European Champions Clubs' Cup (presently called Champions League) back in the 1960's, plus diversified material as old balls, football boots, ant other curiosities!
The visit to the stadium is very interesting, amusing and you won't regret it! The area is nice and easy to reach buy public transportation. The mega shopping centre "Colombo" is just across the street so you'll have plenty more to see in the area.

Getting there:

The easiest way to get there is getting the Metro. The underground is safe, clean and cheap. Take the Blue Line and get out either at Alto dos Moinhos or Colégio Militar/Luz. Both of them are very close to the stadium. The buses to that zone I wouldn't recommend very much.
 

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