Blog - World Cup Qualification

For my blog, I thought I would stay topical with this week’s 'Big' news, more specifically, the football and the fact that England have only gone and managed to qualify for the World Cup Finals in Brazil, following Tuesday's 2-0 victory over Poland.

Now, before I get carried away with the success of England and start booking my tickets to the finals, which are reportedly going to cost the average England Fan somewhere in the region of £9,000, I thought I would take a look at some of the construction work that is currently being undertaken in Brazil, in preparation for the 2014 World Cup finals, primarily, the stadiums that are under Construction or Renovation.

National Stadium - Estádio Nacional Mané Garrincha (Capacity 72,788)

Artist Impression 

The stadium, (named after Brazilian Footballer Mane Garrincha who won the 1958 and 1962 World Cup with the Brazil National Team) was originally built in 1974, before being demolished in 2010 and rebuilt. The current reconstruction was designed by Brazilian Architect Oscar Neimeyer, who is also responsible for a large proportion of the National Monuments in Brasilia. The Stadium is reported to have cost somewhere in the region of US$500 Million, making it more costly per seat than the Cape Town Arena, the most costly stadium of the 2010 World Cup.

The stadium was opened 18th May 2013, with a friendly match between local sides Brasilia and Brasiliense, before Brazil played their first game in the stadium on June 15th, beating Japan 3-0.

For those of you like myself, who use Autocad, you may recognize the Estádio Nacional Mané Garrincha Stadium, as the stadium is integrated into the start up screen for Autocad 2013 and therefore appears across my screen on a daily basis.

AutoCad 2013 

The Completed Stadium

The stadium will play host to seven matches in the 2014 world cup finals

The only other stadium to play host to seven matches in the finals is the refurbished Maracana Stadium, Rio de Janeiro, over looked by the famous Art Deco statue of Jesus Christ.

In preparation for the 2014 world cup finals, this iconic football stadium, originally constructed for the 1950 World Cup and once recognised as the largest stadium in the world, hosting crowds of 200,000, has undergone a full refurbishment and renovation programme, which involved the demolition of the lower ring of seats, the construction of a new ring offering improved visibility, the expansion of the access ramps and the replacement of all seating. The stadium has also been fitted with a new roof complete with a rainwater collection system. The facade, which has been listed by the National Institute of Historical and Artistic Heritage, remains untouched. This stadium will host the 2014 World Cup Final.

Site: Maracana Stadium, Rio de Janeiro

Site: Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais (Capacity 62,160) Status: Completed

Among the 12 venues chosen to host the 2014 Wold Cup Finals, there are a number of other stadiums currently under construction that are definitely worthy of a mention in this blog.

Site: Manaus, Amazonas (Capacity 42,374) Status: Under Construction

Architect : GMP http://www.gmp-architekten.de/start.html

Estimated Cost : US$ 246Million

Artist Impression

Stadium Under Construction

Site: Natal, Rio Grande do Norte (Capacity 42,000) Status: Under Construction

Architect : Populous (Formerly HOK Sport) http://populous.com/project/estadio-das-dunas/

Estimated Cost : US$ 185Million

Artist Impression

Stadium Under Construction

Site: Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo State (Capacity 68,000) Status: Under Construction

Architect : CDCA Architects Aníbal Coutinho http://populous.com/project/estadio-das-dunas/

Estimated Cost : US$ 375Million

Artist Impression

Stadium Under Construction

So with less than 8 months until the finals begin, there are a number of impressive stadia under construction / renovation.  The stadiums, together with the South American Skill, Flair and Philosophy to Football and the renowned Brazilian Carnival atmosphere, I for one feel that this World Cup will certainly be a memorable World Cup.

Whether it is a memorable performance from England, that remains to be seen.

(All Images Courtesy of Google Images)

SoVibrant

Steve Murray

Senior Designer

Related Posts: The Oscar Niemeyer Foundation