Arena Pernambuco

Key facts

Club: — | Opening: 2013 | Capacity: 46,000 seats

History and description

The Arena Pernambuco, for sponsorship reasons called Itaipava Arena Pernambuco, was built to serve as the 2014 World Cup venue for the city of Recife. Instead of redeveloping one of Recife’s existing stadiums, e.g. Estadio do Arruda, the city opted to build a brand new stadium out of town.

Construction of the stadium started in October 2010 and got completed in May 2013. The Arena Pernambuco officially opened on 22 May 2013 with a friendly match between Nautico and Portuguese side Sporting CP.

The arena came at a cost of R$500 million, which was financed by a public-private partnership between the state of Pernambuco and a consortium led by construction firm Odebrecht including event management firm AEG. The naming rights were sold to beer brewer Itaipava.

During the 2014 World Cup, the Arena Pernambuco is scheduled to hosted four first round group matches and the round of 16 match between Costa Rica and Greece (1-1).

For five years following the World Cup, the arena was the home of Nautico However, Nautico moved back to their old home Estadio dos Aflitos in 2019.

How to get to the Arena Pernambuco

The Arena Pernambuco is located in São Lourenço da Mata, a suburb of Recife about 18 kilometres west from downtown Recife and a little more from the Boa Viagem beach resort area in the south of Recife.

You can get to the Arena Pernambuco by metro. Station Cosme e Damião lies an approximate 30-minute walk away from the arena on the other side of the Capibaribe river. Cosme e Damião is one of the last stops on the orange (line 1) branch of the Centro line, which can be caught from station Recife (Estação Central) in the centre of Recife.

If coming from the airport or Boa Viagem, take a metro on the blue Sul line and transfer at Recife to a train on the Centro line.

Recife’s long distance bus terminal, TIP, is located in the same area as the arena (albeit not at walking distance). It is one metro stop on the orange line. On matchdays shuttle buses may run from TIP to the stadium.

Address: Arena Pernambuco, São Lourenço da Mata

Eat, drink, and sleep near the Arena Pernambuco

The Arena Pernambuco is located in a lush green area near the suburb of São Lourenço da Mata outside of the city of Recife. It lies close to the river Capibaribe and is surrounded by forests and farmlands with the working class neighbourhoods of São Lourenço da Mata nearby.

The stadium was planned to be part of a new modern urban development including entertainment and accommodation facilities, but little has been realised and currently there is not much around in terms of eating and drinking, which is best done in the city of Recife.

Most hotels and entertainment options are in the southern part of the city in the well-off Boa Viagem area along the coast. Click here for an overview of hotels in Recife. Alternatively, if you prefer smaller towns and beautiful beaches, stay at picturesque Porto de Galinhas, which lies about 50 kilometres south of Recife.