Estadio Jose Alvalade (Lisbon)

Estádio José Alvalade is a football stadium in Lisbon, Portugal, home of Sporting Clube de Portugal. It was built adjacent to the site of the older stadium. The stadium is named after José Alvalade, the founder and first club member of Sporting CP in the early twentieth century.

General information

Arena capacity: 50,049 spectators

Address: Rua Professor Fernando da Fonseca, 1501-806 Lisboa, Portugal

GPS coordinates for the navigator: 38°45′40.30″N 9°9′38.82″W

Year of construction: 6 August 2003

Construction cost: €105 million

Field: grass lawn with dimensions of 105 x 68 m

Seating plan of Estadio Jose Alvalade

The stadium is built in a ‘bowl’ style, as is often the case with continental football grounds. The North Stand, or Norte, is behind one of the goals and is a two-tier structure that houses away fans. The South Stand, or Sul, is a replica of The North Stand but is only for home supporters. The East Stand, or Nascente, runs along the side of the pitch and also has two-tiers that are separated by executive boxes. The West Stand, or Poente, is the same but it houses the dugouts, changing rooms and family area.

Where to buy tickets?

It’s really tricky to get specific information about ticket prices, though we can tell you that members of the club’s supporter group pay less, as do concessions and youths. There are family tickets available and the club also offers a limited number of €5 tickets every game. Prices range from about €17 for tickets high up behind one of the goals and €42 for excellent seats in one of the stands running on the side of the pitch.

How to get Sporting Club De Portugal tickets?

You can buy your tickets, online, over the phone or by going to the ticket office in person.

How to get there?

As the capital of Portugal it’s reasonably fair to say that access to Lisbon is relatively simple. Here are the standard ways you might want to consider getting there.

Train

It will take you just under 24 hours to get from St. Pancras International to Lisbon. You’ll start in London and head to Paris Nord on the Eurostar from there you’ll make your way to Paris Montparnasse station and get a train to Irun before taking another train to Lisboa Oriente. The stadium is reachable from Campo Grande Station, which is on the Yellow or Green line of the Metro.

Bus

Buses 1, 3, 7, 36, 47 and 77 all stop near the station, to name but a few of your options.

Car

You want the North-South axis of the 2nd circular and then take either the Campo Grande exit or the Telheiras exit. If you’re coming in on the Causeway Carriche then take the Lisbon exit, the Telheiras exit or follow the signs.

By air

Lisbon Portela Airport, called Aeroporto da Portela in Portguese, is only a few miles from the centre of Lisbon. It is the largest airport in Portugal.

Taxi

From Lisboa Oriente station to the ground your journey will take about ten minutes and should cost around €13.

Parking Near Estadio Jose Alvalade

There is a large car park underneath the stadium that you should be able to leave your car in, should you get there whilst there are spaces.

Estadio Jose Alvalade Hotels

Lisbon has got loads of great hotels, ready to welcome the tourists who want to see the country’s capital. Here are some of our faves.

Alvalade II Guest House Lisboa — £40+

Avenida Rio de Janeiro n 25 3 direito, Lisbon, 1700-331

Just over a mile from the ground is this nice little guest house with just six rooms. It’s also got a terrace and a library, though, so it’s not exactly rubbish.

Radisson Blu Hotel Lisbon — £60+

Avenida Marechal Craveiro Lopes, 390, Campo Grande, Lisbon, 1749-009

This member of the Radisson chain of hotels has a restaurant, a bar, a business centre, a conference space, self-parking and free Wi-Fi. It’s also less than a mile from the stadium.

Hotel 3K Europa — £75+

Avenida da República, nº 93, Lisbon, 1050-190

This unusually named hotel is about a mile and a half from Estádio José Alvalade and boasts a bar, a conference space, free newspapers in the reception, self-parking and, surprise surprise, free Wi-Fi.

Pubs & Bars Near Estadio Jose Alvalade

Lisbon has any number of great little bars and more tourist friendly places. Here are some of the best.

Jürgen’s Bar

do Diário de Notícias 68, 1200-470 Lisboa

Jürgen’s Bar has the look and feel of a place likely to be popular with students and young people. Shots, cocktails and shorts are the order of the day, though there are TV screens there too that you might be able to persuade the staff to put some sport on.

Speakeasy

Cais de Oficinas, Armazém 115, Rocha Conde de Óbidos, 1350-352 Lisboa

As the name suggests, this place is a fun and slightly different place to go. There’s a good menu, a nice drinks selection and a great atmosphere.

Sky Bar

Av. da Liberdade 185, 1269-050 Lisboa

The Tivoli Hotel boasts a tremendous rooftop bar with amazing views of the city. There’s also a decent food menu, if you like to combine dinner with drinks.

Facilities

The stadium has brilliant facilities, not only in a footballing sense but also throughout the nearby complex. Views are good from most seats and there are all of the usual kiosks and such from which you can buy food and drinks.

Hospitality

There are a number of executive boxes around the ground that provide an excellent hospitality experience. If you’d like to know more about what exactly it all entails or more then your best bet is to contact the club.

Private hire

Any number of facilities is available for hire at Estádio José Alvalade, including the press conference room, an auditorium with 70 seats and multimedia capabilities and the executive boxes.

History

The stadium is the center of a complex called Alvalade XXI, designed by Portuguese architect Tomás Taveira, which includes a mall called Alvaláxia with a 12-screen movie theater, a health club, the club’s museum, a sports pavilion, a clinic, and an office building. The complex cost a total of €162 million, with the stadium accounting with almost €121 million. On the exterior, the stadium features multi-coloured tiles. Seats are also arranged in a random-looking colour mix.

It was classified by UEFA as a 4-star stadium, enabling it to host finals of major UEFA events. The stadium – originally projected to hold only 40,000 spectators at any given time – has a capacity of 50,049 and was acoustically engineered as a venue for major concerts. The stadium has also a total of 1,315 underground parking spaces, including 30 for disabled spectators.

Its official opening was on 6 August 2003 when Sporting played and beat Manchester United 3-1. The stadium hosted five matches of UEFA Euro 2004, one of them being the semi-final between Portugal and the Netherlands, which Portugal won 2-1. It also hosted the 2005 UEFA Cup Final between Sporting and CSKA Moscow, which CSKA Moscow won 3-1.

After years of coping with a poor playing surface, the Sporting board initially decided to install synthetic turf for the 2011-12 season, but this decision was later abandoned for the use of artificial lighting by Stadium Grow Lighting.

This stadium was also featured in a Travel and Living Channel culinary-themed show called World Cafe, guided by Bobby Chinn, when they were travelling in Lisbon. They cooked a traditional Portuguese sweet dish right in the middle of the pitch.