Estadio Algarve (Algarve)

The Estádio Algarve is an association football stadium located between Faro and Loulé, in Portugal. It was the former home of Farense and Louletano, having received some Olhanense and Portimonense matches during their respective stadiums’ works of renovation. From 2004 to 2013, Louletano shared the stadium with Sporting Clube Farense.

General information

Arena capacity: 30,305 spectators

Address: Almancil, Portugal

GPS coordinates for the navigator: 37.0883° N, 7.9747° W

Year of construction: 2004

Construction cost: €38 million

Seating plan of Estadio Algarve

When choosing a place in the stadium, use the Estadio Algarve scheme above.

Where to buy tickets?

For Gibraltar games, tickets are available online, at €27 and €32 each, €15 for under-12s. Fans from other national sides should check with their individual associations.

How to get there?

Estádio Algarve is located about 8 kilometres north of the city of Faro, about halfway between Faro and Loulé.

Driving

The stadium’s address for satnav is as follows:

• Estadio do Algarve, Parque das Cidades, 8135-014, Almancil

Car parks

There are 3,500 parking spaces available at Estadio do Algarve with the sports complex, Parque das Cidades containing four car parks in total.

Train

The stadium is served by its own station which is named after the sporting complex “Parque das Cidades”. The journey takes around 6 minutes from Faro Railway Station, and then a further 15 minutes or so by foot. There are typically a dozen or so train services each day which go past the stadium.

Food

At the stadium there are over twenty various food and beverage sale points across the four stands, as well as a restaurant within the west stand with panoramic views.

Hotels

As a popular tourist destination there are plenty of hotels within Faro, however there are almost none within close proximity to Estadio Algarve. Within 10 minutes of the city centre and train station there is a Best Western, Hotel Afonso and Hotel Ibis to name but three examples.

History

Estádio Algarve was one of seven new stadiums built to host matches of Euro 2004. The inaugural fixture, a friendly match, was played on 23rd November 2003 between two local sides SC Farense and Louletano DC who were both expected to become permanent tenants.

Constructed with a capacity of 30,000 – the minimum size required by UEFA for the tournament, the two local sides were unable to fill the ground on a regular basis and subsequently they both moved to smaller facilities in 2013.

During Euro 2004, Estádio Algarve hosted two group matches: Spain v Russia (1-0), Russia v Greece (2-1), and a quarter final match between Sweden and Netherlands (0-0) which resulted in a thrilling 5-4 penalty shoot-out victory for the Dutch.

The stadium was previously home to both Farense and Louletano, which are currently playing in the lower leagues. As a result both have chosen to play most of their home matches in smaller local stadiums, using Estadio Algarve only for important matches.

Estadio Algarve does get regularly used for international football, including the Portuguese and Gibraltar national teams, the latter until they have found a home of their own within Gibraltar.

Estadio Algarve, designed by Populous, is best known for its remarkable architecture. Stand-out features are its 73-metre-high curved roofs over two of the stands, which are held up by a steel structure tied to four pillars. The stadium has a total of 320 VIP places.

In the Summer of 2008 the stadium hosted the a pre-season tournament known as the Algarve Challenge Cup. It featured three British sides: Cardiff City, Celtic, Middlesbrough and Vitória S.C from Portugal. It has also occasionally hosted friendly matches of the Portuguese National team at the rate of around one every two years or so.