Arena Pantanal is a multi-purpose stadium, majorly used for hosting football matches. The stadium is located in Cuiabá, Brazil.
The venue has been built to serve as one of the playing venues of the 2014 FIFA World Cup. It replaced the old Estádio José Fragelli (Verdão), which used to be the principal football stadium of the city of Cuiabá.
History
Verdão was demolished in 2010 and the construction of the Arena Pantanal stadium was started in the month of May in same year. It took almost four years and R$570 million to complete the construction.
The stadium was expected to be ready in 2012 but along with growing delays, the project’s budget also grew a lot. The early estimation of the cost was R$342 million.
The arena had a capacity of 41,390 and currently can seat 44,003 spectators with the field size of 108m x 65m.
The stadium hosted its first match on 2 April 2014, between Mixto and Santos in Copa do Brasil in front of 5000 spectators. Arena Pantanal hosted its first match with full capacity on 18 May 2014 when Santos and Atlético Mineiro played a league match at the stadium.
Major Matches
Arena Pantanal has hosted four group matches of 2014 FIFA World Cup. The first match was played between Chile and Australia, which the South American country won by 3 goals to 1.
The second match was held between Russia and South Korea, which ended up in the draw.
Controversies
Prior to its use for the 2014 FIFA World Cup, the venue received much criticism. It suffered a fire in October 2013, due to polystyrene insulation panels catching alight. However, no injuries were reported during the fire.
