An online auction for Portuguese football club Boavista’s former home – Estádio do Bessa -and the nearby sports complex closed with a bid of €25.7 million.
Sapo said the value was below the minimum set price of €32.9 million, according to the Porto Alegre-based auction house Leilosoc Worldwide.
The nearby Boavista Sports Complex, however, did sell in an auction that separated the assets after receiving a bid of €6.5 million, significantly exceeding the minimum €5.9 million price set.
The stadium and sports complex were put up for sale after Boavista football club, which formerly played in the top flight of Portuguese football, went into administration with debts of over €130 million.
The Estádio do Bessa comprises a main sports venue with stands and technical infrastructure, administrative and operational areas, internal support spaces, complementary sports services and activities, and areas suitable for autonomous commercial, institutional, or service-based operation.
The sports complex, which allows for the development of real estate projects, consists of a multi-sports court, changing rooms, stands, tennis courts, a grass pitch, a bar, a patio/park, and access roads.
Boavista’s last ever match was played at the Estádio do Bessa in May 2025 and the stadium was subsequently shut down due to safety issues the club couldn’t afford to fix.
The club was administratively relegated and now operates at regional level, with some competitions skipped due to financial reasons.
Boavista football club, commonly known as Boavista, is a Portuguese professional sports club from the Boavista neighborhood of Porto that competes in the Porto Football Association, the district leagues of Portuguese football, at the Estádio do Bessa.
It is one of the oldest clubs in the country, having been founded on 1 August 1903 by British entrepreneurs and Portuguese textile workers. As of 2025–26, the club fields its highest competing team in the Porto Football Association’s top tier, after being expelled in 2025 from the Primeira Liga on financial grounds.
The Estádio do Bessa Sec. XXI is a football stadium located in the Boavista area of Porto, Portugal it is the home ground of Boavista Futebol Clube.
The online auction, foreseen in the Boavista FC insolvency plan, was held between April 27 and June 9 and included the entire Bessa Stadium, the Porto sports complex, as well as individual lots of both.
The last of 12 bids was received for the two assets, valued at R$ 25.7 million. The decision to accept the offer now rests with the creditors’ committee of the Panteras club.
The process had more than 25 entries from various sectors, mainly sports and real estate. Participants had to pay a deposit of R$ 25,000.
A spokesman for the auction house said, “The coexistence between current sports use, the potential for requalification of existing infrastructure, and the capacity for partial urban development gives these assets a particularly attractive position for investors with value-add strategies, phased real estate development, or mixed sports-residential projects.” considers the auction house.
Last month, Boavista’s board reached an agreement with the Spanish company Sacyr, the main creditor in the club’s insolvency proceedings, for the acquisition of the debt as part of the club’s recovery process and requested the annulment of the auction of the assets.
The club considers this purchase “a decisive step” for the financial and institutional recovery of the club, given that it creates conditions for stability, preservation of assets, and continuity of the recovery plan.
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