Football - Euro 2004

[Rita Ochoa]

Football fans and/or architects:

As I once announced Portugal is having the Euro 2004 wich will be played all around the country. For that we are building 5 new football stadiums and fully refurbishing another 5.
http://www.portugal2004.pt/ will give you an "oficial" idea of whats happening, concerning architecture and capacities. (don't worry, you can find an english version there)

The majoraty of these buildings will be ready in the middle of 2003 but already became landmarks, not just for their scales but also because they were designed by famous portuguese architects, with the help of brittish and deutch consultants.

Football is our major sport and all portuguese population is carefully following the steps of each construction, either because they love their club, or they love / hate the architecture or simply because they are paying for these buildings with their taxes !!


I would like to know your opinion...

By the way, is Ireland qualified for the Euro ?

[patriciagaspar]

Do you belive that all stadia are going to be ready in time? I've heared that one project at least is delayed

[Paul Clerkin]

The Braga Stadium is quite interesting.

http://www.portugal2004.pt/en/projectos/estadios/thumbs.asp?action=Projecto&ID=2

[Paul Clerkin]

What do they mean by "in a project reminiscent of mythical English football stadiums." Bessa Stadium

[patriciagaspar]

Take a look of this sport daly newspaper site with all stadia images for the Euro2004

it's in portuguese

http://www.abola.pt/ArqEuros/Euro2004/ArqEstad/westadios.htm

[MaximusColumnus]

"mythical..stadiums"

don't know about English ones but wouldn't Bertie Bowl count as an Irish one

Is the webpage of the "building benfica webcam" still up and running.

[Rita Ochoa]

Paul,

The Braga stadium is the favourite stadium of the architects community over here , in spite of it's huge problems related to crowed security, etc.

Anyway the landscape relation is beautiful lnd very elegant: You have a nice natural view when you are at the stands and the architecture "respects" the natural land modelation...

good choice Paul !

... my personal choice goes to Alvalade Stadium, future house of Sporting Clube Portugal:

http://www.portugal2004.pt/en/projectos/estadios/estadios.asp?ID=7

or

http://www.sporting.pt/alvaladexxi/index.asp

[Rita Ochoa]

No I think the webpage of the "building benfica webcam" is not working...
But here you can find some images of the construction: http://www.portugal2004.pt/en/projectos/estadios/thumbs.asp?action=Obra&ID=11

[Rita Ochoa]

Is Ireland qualified for the Euro 2004 ?
And do you have many football fans ?
I think your major sport is something bettwen football and rubgy to be played with a lot of rain, ins't it ? (I can't remember the name)
Is the Bertie Bowl designed for that sport ?

[Frederico]

test

[Rita Ochoa]

That's the new logo, inspired on the traditional portuguese gold jewelery... nice ins't it ?

[dmcg]

I visited the stadiums of Benfica (amazing)
Sporting (lovely) Porto (bit security conscious) and Beleneses (Beautiful setting)......and I have to laugh that they feel they need to build new ones....granted they don't have to worry abour rain so much so roofs are rare, and they are a bit functional, but jesus they are space age pristine perfect compared to what we have here- croker excepted and I have been to dalymount, landsdowne, semple and pairc ui chaoimh....what have we been doing with all our 'boom' money? Portugal have us beaten hands down in infrastructure roads, rail, bridges, public transport and already definitely stadia but now they are building all brand new ones! and no offence but your average joe bloggs on the irish street probably thinks of portugal as a bit backward and poor still, but I only wish I spoke portugese cos I'd be there now!

[Rita Ochoa]

It's good to know there are other people outside our country looking so carefull to what we do
We needed new stadiums (no so many!) for a few small reasons:
- To get the Euro here we needed to answer all the UEFA regulamentations (roofs, security layouts, etc.) and our stadiums were to obsolete
- To keep a stadium costs a lot of money and the new ones offer thousands of square meters with spaces to rent, restaurants, cinemas, shopping malls, health clubs, etc. That way these buildings can "make money" and have their own life all the days of the year (ie Sporting stadium will have 11 cinemas and a huge bowling room!)
- Without sounding alarmist, Portugal is about to have a big earthquake like we had on 1755(we are on the 200 years of period to have it) and our stadiums, like the rest of the buildings on all country, weren't preapred to resist... Now MAYBE they are...

We didn't have an economical evolution as Ireland did and we have been entretained on paying on the last years big high-ways, subways, bridges, etc. But our education system didn't evoluted much and the new technologies industries don't bet on our country, unlike Ireland.
I wouldn't say backward and poor but yes a place of many economical / cultural constrasts...

You can learn portuguese there at the portuguese association in Dublin

[MaximusColumnus]

nope, call the portuguese embassy and they have a number for a school that does Night courses (south county dublin, can't rememebr the name of it).

Only other place seemingly is Trinity college, but you have to become student trinners scum to do that (no offense to trinity college or students was intended by that remark by hte way)

(actually, I was lied)
hmmmm, where do trinity students go to look "emotionally pained" with silly scarves and an unopened copy of ulysses under their arm? I mean, dunkin donuts is closed.