Estádio do Dragão (Porto)

The Estádio do Dragão is an all-seater football stadium located in Porto, Portugal. It is the current home stadium of FC Porto with a capacity of 50,033, making it the third largest football stadium in Portugal.

Designed by Portuguese architect Manuel Salgado, the infrastructure was constructed to replace Porto’s previous stadium, the Estádio das Antas, along with becoming one of the host venues for the UEFA Euro 2004 tournament finals. The inauguration took place on 16 November 2003 with a friendly match against Barcelona, setting an attendance record of 52,000 spectators.

General information

Arena capacity: 50,033 spectators

Address: Via Futebol Clube do Porto, 4350-415 Porto, Portugal

GPS coordinates for the navigator: 41.161758°N 8.583933°W

Year of construction: 16 November 2003

Construction cost: €125 million

Field: grass lawn with dimensions of 105 x 68 m

Seating plan of Estádio do Dragão

Estádio do Dragão is built in the ‘European Style’ of having a bowl of continuous seating. This is often preferred on the continent to the ‘English Style’ of having four separate stands on each side of the ground. Here’s some information about the different stands at the ground.

1. The North Stand — This stand is located behind one of the goals and has a single-tier of seating. This means that it will be reasonably easy to upgrade the stadium’s capacity by adding another tier in the future.
2. The East Stand — There are two tiers to this stand, separated by a row of executive boxes. The stand runs along the side of the pitch.
3. The South Stand — Similar to The North Stand that is at the opposite end of the ground, The South Stand has a single tier and is behind the other goal. Where The North Stand has a section for away supporters, however, this stand is entirely for home fans.
4. The West Stand — Pretty similar to The East Stand in that it has two tiers separated by a row of executive boxes and runs the length of the pitch, The West Stand differs in that it houses the players’ tunnel, changing rooms and the dugouts.

Where to buy tickets?

Ticket prices to see Porto play can vary wildly depending on who it is that they’re up against. You’ll also pay different amounts depending on where it is in the ground that you’d like to sit. Here are some of the prices for the club’s 2016 match against Vitória SC. Do bear in mind that if you’d like to see them go up against one of the better teams in the league then you’ll pay quite a bit more.

• North Stand: £14-£110;
• South Stand: £85-£95;
• East Stand: £16-£91;
• West Stand: £36-£110.

How to get FC Porto tickets?

You can get tickets online or by calling the club directly, though in both instances you’d do well to speak a little Portuguese to make sure you’re getting the right thing. You can wait until closer to the time of the match and pick them up directly from the box office or, if you’d prefer then you can get tickets through the club’s official ticket selling partner.

How to get there?

Porto is one of Portugal’s most picturesque cities, known for its bridges and, of course, it’s production of wine and port. There are plenty of ways to get there, with these being some of the more obvious ones.

Train

It will take the best part of a day to get to Porto on the train, leaving from London St. Pancras and going via Paris, Irun in Spain and Coimbra in Portugal before eventually arriving at your destination. Once in Porto you’ll want to take the Metro as the stadium has it’s very own Metro station called Estádio do Dragão. It is the final stop on Lines A, B and E.

Bus

Buses 401, 700, 800, 801, 806 and 7M all run from the centre of Porto out to the ground, so they’re the ones to keep an eye out for if you’re hoping to get the bus rather than use the excellent Metro system.

Car

Driving abroad is always tricky, but if you’re determined to get to the ground by car then your best bet will be to get a sat-nav and head to 4350-415 Porto.

By air

Aeroporto do Porto, officially known as Francisco Sa Carneiro, is about fifteen kilometres from the centre of Porto. You can get Metro line E from the airport so you can head straight to the ground if you’d like to.

Taxi

A taxi from the centre of town will cost about €10 and should take around fifteen minutes to get you to the station.

Parking Near Estádio Do Dragão

There is a cheap parking centre at the stadium that you can use on match days, though it does get very busy if you’re not there early enough.

Estádio do Dragão Hotels

As one of the most visited cities in Portugal there are plenty of hotel options for you in Porto. Here are some of our favourites.

Porto Trindade Hotel — £60+

Rua de Camões, 129/131, Porto, 4000-144

This hotel is on the beachfront in Porto and is not far from the city’s famous Sandeman Cellars, for those of you that enjoy a glass or two of port. There’s two restaurants, a full-service spa including an outdoor pool, a rooftop terrace and a fitness centre. There’s also a buffet breakfast included at no extra cost and Wi-Fi available.

Hotel Dom Henrique Downtown — £70+

Rua Guedes de Azevedo, 179, Porto, 4049-009

In the heart of Porto is this delightful hotel that offers two restaurants and a 24-hour fitness centre. There’s also childcare available, a rooftop terrace with amazing views of the city and self-parking. There’s a business centre and free Wi-Fi for those of you that need to get some work done whilst you’re away.

Porto Old Town — £80+

Rua Fernandes Tomás 877, Porto, 4000-219

Situated in the city’s beautiful Old Town is this pleasant apartment complex that is ideal for small families who want a home away from home. It’s got just nine apartments so you won’t be overwhelmed by the number of people there, plus it has a kitchen and cooking area as well as free Wi-Fi.

Pubs & Bars Near Estádio do Dragão

As we’ve already mentioned once or twice, Porto is famed for it’s port production and there are a number of places you can go to enjoy this to its fullest. There are plenty of decent sports bars too, though.

Ryan’s Irish Pub

Rua do Infante D. Henrique 18, 4050 Porto

We’re not sure who Ryan is or why it is that his name adorns the outside of this Irish bar in the heart of Porto, but we do know that it’s well worth a visit whilst you’re here. You know what you’re getting from Irish bars. There’s decent pub grub, standard Irish drinks like Guinness and plenty of TVs for live sport.

Hotfive Blues & Jazz Blues Club

Largo do Actor Dias 51, 4430 Porto

Granted this place isn’t all that welcoming to large groups of football fans, but if you’re there with a few friends or family then you should definitely pop in. The music is the key to the experience here and there are live acts on every night. Somewhere to come and unwind if your team lost or bask in the victory of glory if they didn’t.

Catraio — Craft Beer Shop

Rua de Cedofeita 256, 4050-174 Porto

The Craft Beer Shop is a great place to head if you like different types of beer. There’s a bar where you can try the different beers as well as an outdoor area to sit in and enjoy your craft ales. If you like any of them you can, of course, take a sample or two away with you!

Facilities

Estádio do Dragão isn’t one of the newest stadiums in Portugal but the facilities are what you’d expect from a top-class side’s stadium. There are all of the usual places to buy food and drink as well as plenty of toilets and large atriums to hang around on before the game. The views are pretty great from everywhere in the ground, too.

Hospitality

There are three main areas of hospitality at the Estádio do Dragão and you’ll be guaranteed a wonderful experience should you be fortunate enough to see the game from any of them. Here’s some information on all the different choices available.

1. East Stand Boxes — As the name suggests, these boxes can be found in The East Stand and have a fantastic view of the pitch. You’ll get access to what the club call their ‘common lounges’ before watching the game in the comfort of your private box along with between eleven and fifteen friends or family members.
2. West Stand Boxes — If The East Stand boxes are good then their West Stand equivalents are on the next level. Here you’ll experience a premium service with boxes that can fit between eighteen and twenty-four people in them. You’ll get catering inside the box and VIP parking.
3. VIP Tribune — The Box Tribuna is located at the back of the lower tier of The East Stand. It is aimed at Porto supporters who want to have a VIP experience but also like the feel of the match. You’ll get catering and hospitality service in the common area as well as VIP seating in the middle of the stand itself.

Private hire

With a number of different facilities available it’s fair to say that you’ll be able to rent a private space at Estádio do Dragão should that be something you fancy doing. Your best bet is to contact the club directly and see what exactly they can offer you.

History

Estádio do Dragão opened in 2003 and replaced Estádio das Antas as the home of FC Porto. It hosted its first game on the 16th of November 2003 when Barcelona turned up for a friendly against the hosts. It took two years to build the stadium under the watchful eye of the architect Manuel Salgado and the Portuguese contractor Somague. It would have been built quicker but for a disagreement between the mayor of Porto, Rui Rio, and the club regarding estate distribution which led to a suspension of building work.

It’s status with UEFA means that it can be used for any number of footballing events. It was originally constructed to be used as one of the venues when Portugal hosted the UEFA European Championships in 2004, hosting the first match of the entire tournament between the hosts and the competition’s eventual winners Greece. It staged three group games, a quarter-final match and a semi-final. The Portuguese national team have used it for a number of friendlies and qualifying matches. Bands such as Deep Purple, Muse and One Direction have hosted matches there.

Construction and inauguration

Construction works began in late 2001, and were completed in November 2003, some months after what was expected, since in February 2002, Porto mayor Rui Rio changed the estate distribution, criticizing the plan for including high-scale housing and shopping for the area. These actions forced the chairman of FC Porto, Jorge Nuno Pinto da Costa, to halt all building operations, which were only resumed after a consensus was reached.

Designed by Portuguese architect Manuel Salgado and built by Portuguese contractor Somague, it cost €97,755,318, of which €18,430,956 was subsidized by the government. To help underwrite costs, each stand carries one or two sponsor names: Super Bock (south), tmn (east), meo (west), and Coca-Cola (north stand). Away fans are placed in the right corner of the upper tier of the east stand, while home Ultra groups, Super Dragões and Colectivo Ultras 95, occupy the south stand and the north stand, respectively, like on the old stadium.

The stadium was inaugurated on November 16, 2003, with a match against FC Barcelona, which featured the debut of a 16-year-old Lionel Messi in the Spanish side. Porto won 2-0 with goals by Derlei and Hugo Almeida. Due to severe turf problems, however, Porto was forced to return and play in the old Estádio das Antas, until the turf was replanted by mid-February 2004.

The stadium is characterized by a frame of 21 000 meters squared of azulejos.