The “Maracana” in Rio de Janeiro

Many Brazilians want to remember the legendary Marakana stadium. Up until the 1990’s it was the meeting place of all social classes. After its reconstruction, however, its capacity was reduced drastically, and the cheap seats were cut. From 200.000 people capacity it was brought down to 78,000. The recent reconstruction for the 2014 World Cup cost 400 million euros.

Arena de Sao Paolo “Itaquerao”

The first match in this year’s World Cup will take place on June 12th, in Sao Paolo, the largest city in Brazil. The Itaquerao stadium has been named after the working-class area of Itaquera, and after the World Cup, it will host the Corinthians team. The stadium will host six World Cup games in total. Its reconstruction cost around 310 million euros.

Arena das Dunas in Natal
Looking at the high-tech Arena das Dunas stadium, Natal’s citizens are suffering from a weird déjà-vu. In 1991, in honour of Pope John-Paul II’s visit, a reception area was built, which cost 5 million euros. The cultural center that it was supposed to become afterwards never came true. There is also no real need for a football stadium in the region anyway.

Arena Fonte Nova

The greatest matches will initially be held in the Arena Fonte Nova stadium in the city of Salvador. World Cup holder Spain will be playing against Holland, its previous World Cup final rival. Three days later, Germany and Portugal will clash in this beautiful stadium. Fonte Nova is the home of local EC Bahia. The team takes part in international tournaments.

Estadio Castelao

Estadio Castelao in Fortaleza will continue to be filled after the World Cup has finished. The 2.5 million people city has two big teams that always attract full-capacity crowds. Germany will be matched up against Ghana in this stadium. The reconstruction costs reached 180 million euros. It holds 65,000 people.

Arena Pantanal

With only 500,000 people, Cuiaba city is the smallest of the cities to host games. Arena Pantanal was specifically designed for the World Cup, with the costs reaching up to 190 million euros. The new stadium will probably remain unused afterwards, since the team doesn’t have any top-tier teams.

Arena Pernambuko

Arena Pernambuko in Recife will host 5 World Cup match. The construction of the new stadium, which is 22 km. away from the city centre, cost 250 million euros. It has a capacity of 43,000 seats.

Arena de Amazonia

Arena de Amazonia in Manaus will host 4 World Cup matches. Among them, the nail-biter between England and Italy. Since no local team is part of Brazil’s top league, the officials hope that they will be able to utilize the stadium with concerts and cultural events after the World Cup.

Estadio Mineirao

Estadio Mineirao of Belo Horizonte city has been hosting Cruzeiro and Atletico Mineiro for around five decades. It first opened its doors in 1965 and the recent reconstruction costs reached 225 million euros. It has a capacity of 62,547 seats.

Estadio National

The most expensive stadium is that of Estadio National, in Brazilia. Even if no local team will be playing here after the World Cup. Both local teams are playing in the fourth division. The reconstruction costs went way over 630 million euros.

Arena de Baixada

The Arena de Baixada stadium was almost erased from the list of stadiums which will host World Cup games. The reconstruction costs had been halted for months due to financing problems. After FIFA’s red card in the beginning of 2014, things seemed to change. The smallest stadium in this year’s World Cup, with a capacity of 41,456 seats is ready on time.

Estadio Beira Rio

Estadio Beira Rio is in Porto Alegre. Even though the city already had a new stadium, that of the “Gremio” team, officials chose Beira Rio of team “Internacional” instead. The two teams are among the top teams of Brazil. The reconstruction cost 110 million euros.