Portuguese football club Benfica has dreams of building a 120,000 capacity stadium, according to the club’s Vice President Rui do Passo.
AZ Score said that speaking on the “Grande Entrevista” program on BTV, do Passo, Benfica’s Vice President responsible for Innovation and Technology, said the club should consider a new venue that could accommodate the 120,000 fans that the Estádio da Luz has seen in the past.
Sport Lisboa e Benfica, commonly known as Benfica, is a professional football club based in Lisbon, Portugal, that competes in the Primeira Liga, the top flight of Portuguese football.
The 65,592-capacity Estádio da Luz, officially named the Estádio do Sport Lisboa e Benfica, is a multipurpose stadium located in Lisbon, Portugal. It is used mostly for association football matches hosting the home games of the Portuguese club Benfica.
Despite its size, the stadium is often unable to accommodate all of the club’s fans as Benfica boasts a massive supporter base enjoying over five million fans in Portugal alone.
Late last year club president Rui Costa said Benfica was aiming to raise the capacity of the stadium to 70,000. But do Passo has even loftier ambitions with dreams of a new 120,000 capacity venue.
He said, “120 years is a significant milestone for a brand that is more than a century old. It represents 12 decades of a rich history filled with titles, making this institution a unique case nationally and globally.
“As I usually say, we must respect the three pillars: have more members and fans, win more because it’s in our DNA, and foster the growth of sports practice at all levels. That growth can continue along the path we are building.”
The Estádio da Luz, originally built in 1954, underwent major makeover in 2003 ahead of EURO 2004 when it served as a key venue.
Prior to the 2003 repurposing work, the stadium could hold up to 120,000 spectators and its official record attendance was set in 1987 when 135,000 fans watched Benfica face FC Porto.
Do Passo added, “We are approaching 400,000 members. The last number I checked was 392,202. I believe that by our anniversary date, February 28, we will hit the 400,000 mark. If not, we will be very close.
“We’re adding around 100 members a day, 3,000 members a month. In 2023, we gained an additional 44,000 members. It’s a tremendous force, especially with family memberships, and we can go even further.”
Do Passo said that’s why the club must start thinking about a new stadium with a capacity as high as 120,000, because the current one is constantly full.
“At this point, we have the boxes fully booked with waiting lists, executive seats with waiting lists, and Red Passes with substantial waiting lists. Rough calculations suggest it’s not difficult to increase from 45,000 to 70,000 Red Passes, from five thousand executive seats to ten thousand, and from 150 boxes to 300.
“We have a waiting list to purchase all these seats already. Therefore, it is very feasible to seriously consider a project like this.”
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