How Estádio da Luz, home of Benfica, changed over time

Lisboa - Estádio da Luz 18.07.2016: The Estádio da Luz had been the home ground of the Portuguese club Benfica Lisbon for more than fifty years before it was replaced by a new stadium, bearing the same name, in 2003. The construction of the stadium, also known as the Estádio de Carnide, was begun in July 1953. It was inaugurated a year later, on 1st December, with a match between Benfica and Porto (1-3). The initial capacity of the Estádio da Luz was 50,000 but when the third tier was built, the capacity increased to 80,000.

At first, the third tier was only built along one side of the pitch, but in 1985 the third tier was completed on all sides and the stadium capacity thus increased to 120,000 – this made the Estádio da Luz the largest stadium in Europe of all time. In 1992 the Estádio da Luz hosted its only European cup final match – it was the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup final between Werder Bremen and AS Monaco.

2000 (Photo: Wolfgang Pehlemann, CC BY-SA 3.0)

In 1998 the stadium was turned into an all-seater, and its capacity was therefore reduced to 78,000 seats. In 1999, when Portugal was chosen to host the 2004 European Championship, it was clear that a more modern stadium be necessary. All proposals for renovation of the Estádio da Luz were rejected, and it was decided that a new, modern stadium be built, which meant that the old one had to be demolished. In March 2003 Benfica played their last match at the stadium, it was a match against Santa Clara and the stadium had already been partly demolished at that time. For the rest of the season the club then played at the Estádio Nacional and in the autumn 2003 they moved to the new Estádio da Luz.