Estádio José Alvalade (1956)

Estádio José Alvalade was a multi-purpose stadium in Lisbon, Portugal. The stadium was able to hold 75,000 people at a time but later its capacity was shortened to 52,411 people. It was inaugurated on 10 June 1956. Home venue of the football team of Sporting Clube de Portugal (Sporting CP) for 47 years, it was mostly used for football matches, but was also used for athletics and cycling. It was the first stadium in Portugal to be equipped with a lighting system that allowed for night-time activities. Designed by architects António Augusto Sá da Costa and Anselmo Fernandez, it was named after Sporting CP's founder José Alfredo Holtreman Roquette, known as José Alvalade. The stadium was closed in 2003, when the new Estádio José Alvalade designed by Tomás Taveira opened.[1]

Estádio José Alvalade
Map
Full nameEstádio José Alvalade
LocationLisbon, Portugal
OwnerSporting Clube de Portugal
Capacity52,411
SurfaceGrass
Construction
Built1956
Opened10 June 1956
Closed2003
Demolished2003
Tenants
Sporting Clube de Portugal

Concerts

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During the 1990s, the Estádio José Alvalade was one of the most prominent venues for rock concerts in Portugal,[2] hosting tour dates of many high-profile international artists, including among others, rock band Bon Jovi, Depeche Mode, U2, R.E.M., David Bowie, Dire Straits, Elton John, Pink Floyd, Bryan Adams and Genesis. This era was inaugurated on June 29, 1989 with a concert by The Cure, during their Prayer Tour promoting the album Disintegration. Tina Turner performed on September 29, 1990 and September 22, 1996. Dire Straits performed on May 16, 1992, on the On Every Street Tour. Michael Jackson performed on September 26, 1992, to a sold-out crowd of 55,000 people. Guns N' Roses performed on July 2, 1992, again to a sold-out crowd. Bruce Springsteen played to an overpacked stadium of 60,000 People in 1993. That is still the stadium's record for attendance.[3]

Portugal national football team

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The national team first played in the stadium in 1957 and had its last game in 2002.

References

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  1. ^ "Estádios de Lisboa". Biblioteca de Arte Gulbenkian (in European Portuguese). Retrieved 2023-10-07.
  2. ^ "Ritmos e Blues: Historial". ritmoseblues.pt. Retrieved 2023-10-08.
  3. ^ "O último concerto de Alvalade". www.record.pt (in European Portuguese). Retrieved 2023-10-07.
  4. ^ Portugal was 5-1 up at 68 minutes, but then one of the Angola players was injured. All the team's 7 substitutions have been used by then and 4 Angola's players had already been sent-off. Hence the game was abandoned at that time with the said scoreline, due to Angola not being allowed to play with 6 players on the field.

38°45′46″N 9°09′31″W / 38.7628177°N 9.1586173°W / 38.7628177; -9.1586173