Arena do Gremio is a stadium which is primarily used for hosting football matches located in Porto Alegre, Brazil. It has a capacity of 60,540 and is the home stadium of Gremio. The stadium replaced the erstwhile Estadio Olimpico Monumental.
History
The construction of the stadium started in 2010 and was funded privately by the club. It finished in just over 2 years in 2012 with overall cost not exceeding the budget of $540m.
The arena is covered almost entirely with the colors of the Gremio club crest. The stadium also has provision for a stand which is reserved for the fanatics from Geral community who expressed their desire of having no seats.
After improvements, the stand is able to withstand the fans falling down, which is a behavior characterizing the local Gremio fans after their team score a goal.
The stadium was inaugurated on 8th December, 2012 when the home side played German club Hamburg SV to commemorate their previous encounter from 1983, when both of them happened to be the continental champions. Gremio beat Hamburg SV 2-1.
Major Matches
The Arena do Gremio hosted the tenth ‘Match Against Poverty’ between Ronaldo’s XI and Zidane’s XI. The match raised $360,000 to support United Nations Development Programme projects in Brazil and Cape Verde.
The first official match held at the Arena do Gremio was the second leg of the Copa Libertadores game between Gremio and LDU Quito in 2013. The match was won by Gremio 1-0, resulting in an aggregate of 1-1. Gremio won the penalty shootout 5-4.
Brazil played their first game at the Arena do Gremio when they hosted France for an international friendly. Brazil won convincingly 3-0 with goals from Oscar, Hernandez and Lucas.
In 2016, the stadium hosted the final of the Brazilian Cup between Gremio and Atletico Mineiro. Gremio held onto a 1-1 draw to secure the Brazilian Cup on aggregate 4-2.
Controversies
In spite of being the first stadium to be built successfully before the 2014 FIFA World Cup, the Arena do Gremio was completely overlooked while allocating matches for the tournament.
The Arena do Gremio had to close one of its stands for the Copa Libertadores game between Gremio and Chile’s Huachipato. This was done due to the avalanche celebration in the game against Liga Deportiva Universitaria when a fence was pulled down and a number of supporters fell into the ditch which separates the pitch from the stands. Gremio also had to pay a fine of $35,000 to the federation.
Recent Matches
On 22 November 2017, Arena do Gremio hosted the first leg of the Copa Libertadores final between Gremio and Lanus. The home side beat their Argentinian rivals by a solitary goal as midfielder Cicero scored in the 83rd minute.
On 27th November 2017, the stadium hosted Gremio’s Serie A game against Atletico Goianiense. The game ended in a 1-1 draw.
