What are the best stadiums in Brazil?

Morumbi, officially called Cícero Pompeu de Toledo Stadium, is considered by many to be one of the best stadiums in Brazil. Belonging to São Paulo Futebol Clube, it has already hosted historic clashes and even the Brazilian team on several occasions.

The stadium’s biggest audience was recorded in 1977 in one of the matches in which Corinthians and Ponte Preta decided the Campeonato Paulista. In the second game of this duel, more than 146 thousand people were present and watched Timão’s victory with a score of 2-1.

Allianz Parque is the main multipurpose arena in Latin America. Located in the same space that housed Parque Antarctica for more than 100 years and, later, the Palestra Itália Stadium, Palmeiras’ home was reopened in 2014 as a milestone for the team’s centenary.

To date, the biggest attendance at the arena was 41,457 people. On that occasion, Palmeiras faced Corinthians on April 29, 2023 for the Brasileirão. Verdão won the match 2-1.

Neo Química Arena, formerly known as Arena Corinthians, is the stadium of Sport Club Corinthians Paulista. The stadium is located in the East Zone of São Paulo — more specifically in Itaquera — and was officially opened on May 18, 2014 in a match between Corinthians and Figueirense for the Brazilian Series A Championship.

Shortly after its inauguration, the Neo Química Arena became the only stadium in the state of São Paulo to host the Olympics and the World Cup.

In 2014, it hosted six FIFA World Cup matches and was the venue for the opening ceremony. In 2016, it hosted several football games — both the men’s and women’s tournaments — at the Olympic Games.

The Governador Magalhães Pinto Stadium, better known as Mineirão, is considered the main stage for football in the state of Minas Gerais. The largest stadium in Minas Gerais is known as the home of Cruzeiro, Atlético Mineiro — until the opening of Arena MRV — and, sometimes, América.

The first game in the history of Mineirão was a friendly between the Seleção Mineira and River Plate, from Argentina. The dispute took place on September 5, 1965 and the Brazilian team beat their rival 1-0.

Another classified as one of the best stadiums in Brazil is the Beira-Rio Stadium. Officially inaugurated on April 6, 1969, the occasion featured a friendly match between the Sport Club Internacional team and Benfica, from Portugal, in front of an audience of more than 100 thousand people.

Home to Internacional, Beira-Rio — which is officially called Estádio José Pinheiro Borda — has a capacity for 50,982 fans, making it the tenth largest stadium in all of Brazil.

Also known as Engenhão, the Nilton Santos Olympic Stadium is located in the city of Rio de Janeiro and belongs to the city hall. It opened on June 30, 2007 with a football match between Botafogo and Fluminense in the eighth round of the Brazilian Championship.

Built during the government of Cesar Maia, the stadium was built to host the football and athletics competitions at the 2007 Pan American Games.

Currently, it has a total seating capacity of more than 44 thousand people. It was also considered the most beautiful and most modern stadium in Latin America at the time of its construction.

The Joaquim Américo Guimarães Stadium, which is also known as Arena da Baixada, is the home arena of Club Athletico Paranaense. Its attendance record occurred on December 16, 2001 in the first game of the Brazilian Championship final. 31,700 fans watched the game between Athletico and São Caetano, where the home team won 4-2.

Arena da Baixada is the first stadium in Latin America — as well as in the entire southern hemisphere — to have a retractable roof, a system that takes around 25 minutes to open or close. Furthermore, it is the first arena approved to use synthetic grass in CBF competitions.

So, what did you think of the list of the best stadiums in Brazil? Were there any missing? Now you have more knowledge to entertain yourself in a football bet and something to talk about in your circle of friends, so enjoy!