The Estádio Cidade de Coimbra (), is a stadium in Coimbra, Portugal. Officially also styled Estádio Municipal "Cidade de Coimbra", it is a municipally-owned stadium belonging to the Municipality of Coimbra, mainly used by the football team of Académica de Coimbra.
The stadium was rebuilt, expanded, and modernized to host some UEFA Euro 2004 matches. Far beyond the sports stadium itself, all the project, called Euro Stadium Project (Projecto Eurostadium), included the possibility of organizing sports, culture, and commercial events, by the modernization of the entire Calhabé area in Coimbra.
The stadium was officially inaugurated with a concert by The Rolling Stones on 27 September 2003, attended by around 50,000 people. The first official match in the remodeled stadium took place on 29 October 2003, with Académica de Coimbra hosting Benfica.
Features Its design does not involve any historical or traditional references, as the idea was to create a new, contemporary image with glass façades and an aesthetic roof supported by elegant stands. The existing athletics track has been preserved for possible use as a multi-purpose facility in the future. The stadium was designed by the Portuguese architectural firm Plarq in association with KSS Design Group of London. The Plarq team was led by the architect António Monteiro.
The stadium has 29,622 seats, two-thirds of which are covered. The complex boasts a large press centre, a bar, kitchens, and a restaurant with a panoramic view of the pitch. The project of the stadium took advantage of old seats: of close to 15,000 (all seated), involved the planned remodelling of the tier which extends around the entire perimeter of the previous stands, and a second tier above that, in the form of a "U", opening onto the slopes of the city at the North end.
A multi-purpose pavilion, olympic swimming pools, healthclub, gym, offices and studio apartment residences were built in the surrounding area. The Alma Shopping, a shopping and leisure center built near the stadium, includes cinemas, underground car parking, restaurants, and several retail outlets.
Notable matches
UEFA Euro 2004 The following UEFA Euro 2004 matches were held in the stadium.
Curiously in both matches, the record for the European Championship's youngest goalscorer was broken, first by Wayne Rooney, then by Johan Vonlanthen. Date Team #1 Result Team #2 Round Attendance 17 June 2004 3–0 Group B 28,214 21 June 2004 1–3 28,111
Portugal national football team matches The following national team matches were held in the stadium. # Date Score Opponent Competition 1. 13 April 1983 0–0 Friendly 2. 8 June 1983 0–4 Friendly 3. 9 June 1999 8–0 Euro 2000 qualifying 4. 28 April 2004 2–2 Friendly 5. 12 November 2005 2–0 Friendly 6. 15 November 2006 3–0 Euro 2008 qualifying 7. 3 March 2010 2–0 Friendly 8. 15 October 2013 3–0 2014 World Cup qualification
Portugal national rugby team matches The following national rugby team matches were held in the stadium: # Date Score Opponent Competition 1. 13 November 2021 25–38 Test match 2. 9 November 2024 17–21 Test match 3. 22 November 2025 33–27 Test match
Taça de Portugal final The stadium also hosted two Taça de Portugal finals in 2020 and 2021. The reasoning for this replacement of the Estádio Nacional was its inability to host the match due to security reasons and lack of guarantee that crowds of spectators would not be able to break the COVID-19 pandemic's cordon sanitaire around the ground, which is surrounded by woodland. + Taça de Portugal finalsSeasonDateWinnersResultRunners-upAttendance2019–201 August 2020Porto 2–1 Benfica02020–2123 May 2021Braga 2–0 Benfica0
Taça da Liga final SeasonDateWinnersScoreRunners-up 2010–1123 April 2011Benfica 2–1Paços de Ferreira 2011–1214 April 2012Benfica 2–1Gil Vicente 2012–1313 April 2013Braga1–0Porto 2014–1529 May 2015Benfica 2–1Marítimo 2015–1620 May 2016Benfica 6–2Marítimo
Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira Coimbra was first selected as the stage for three Portuguese Supercup replays (Finalíssimas), the first of which was in 1992, as it was considered a geographically neutral venue between the two sides. In the one-match era it held the 2004 match and most recently the 2026 edition.
+ Supertaça finalsSeasonDateWinnersResultRunners-upAttendance1992Finalíssima9 September 1992Porto 2–2(4–3 p.)SL Benfica1994Finalíssima17 August 1994Porto 2–2(4–3 p.)SL Benfica2000Finalíssima16 May 2001Sporting 1–0FC Porto200420 August 2004Porto 1–0SL Benfica22,02320261 August 2026Porto 1–0Torreense26,426
Campeonato de Portugal final For the same reasoning as the 2020 and 2021 Portuguese Cup finals, the then third-tier Campeonato de Portugal final was also held in Coimbra in 2020-21.
+ Campeonato de Portugal finalSeasonDateWinnersResultRunners-upAttendance2020-216 June 2021Trofense 0–0(1–0 a.e.t.)Estrela da Amadora0
Concerts In addition to football, the stadium is often used for concerts of international artists with capacity up to 50,000 people. In part owing to its geographic position halfway between the two major cities in the country, Lisbon and Porto, it has welcomed some of the largest stars in music since its renovation. Indeed, the stadium's first use was not a sporting event but a Rolling Stones concert on 27 September 2003, to a sold out crowd.
George Michael played there in 2007 during the 25 Live tour, with 39,639 spectators. and in 2010, U2 played two sold-out shows in the stadium during their U2 360° Tour - approximately 109,985 people attended the event. On June 24, 2012, Madonna performed in front of 33,597 people as part of the MDNA Tour. Andrea Bocelli was meant to play on the 4 June 2020, the municipal holiday, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was postponed to June of the following year. To counteract the post-pandemic crowd limitations, there were two concerts on 25 and 26 June.
Coldplay performed at the stadium on 17, 18, 20, & 21 May 2023 as part of their Music of the Spheres World Tour.
DateCountryArtistTourOpening ActAttendanceRevenue27 September 2003 UKThe Rolling StonesLicks Tour Xutos e Pontapés50,000 —12 May 2007 UKGeorge Michael25 Live —39,639$4,439,5682 October 2010 IrelandU2U2 360° TourInterpol109,985$9,925,6113 October 201024 June 2012 USMadonnaThe MDNA TourMartin Solveig33,597$3,156,0224 June 2020 25 June 2021 ItalyAndrea BocelliBelieve World TourSpecial participation: Mariza26 June 2021 25 June 2022 PortugalOs Quatro e Meia - (Ao Vivo no Estádio Cidade de Coimbra) — 17,00017 May 2023 UKColdplayMusic of the Spheres World TourGriffBárbara Bandeira208,284 / 208,284$21,473,88518 May 202320 May 202321 May 20236 June 2025 USGuns N' RosesBecause What You Want & What You Get Are Two Completely Different Things TourRival Sons
References
External links
Académica de Coimbra's official website Estádio Cidade de Coimbra at Stadiumguide.com