Beira-Rio stadium in Porto Alegre (capacity: 48,900)

The Beira-Rio stadium in Porto Alegre (population: 1.467m, capital of the state of Rio Grande do Sul) was officially inaugurated on 20/02/2014. The first test match was held between Internacional SC (Sports Club), the resident club, and Caxias (4-0, Campeonato Gaúcho, the championship of the state of Rio Grande do Sul), on 16/02/2014.

The stadium, which was inaugurated in 1969, was closed for renovations in December 2012. The cost of the work was estimated at 330m reais (€108m). The Brazilian government, through the BNDES (National Bank for Economic and Social Development) loaned 275.1m reais (€91m) to the holding company Beira-Rio SA (BRIO), founded by a group of investors (Andrade Gutierrez and the bank BTG Pactual, in equal parts). The company will operate the stadium until 2022. International Porto Alegre (2014, Serie A), owner and resident club of the stadium, have invested 26m reais (€8.6m). The remaining €8.4m were put up by Brio SA.

The stadium has a World Cup capacity of 48,900. It should reach 56,000 after the competition. As part of the World Cup renovations, the stands…