Lisbon Benfica District project approved

Article posted by Coliseum, January 28^th, 2026

Image: SL Benfica

Members of Portugal’s Benfica football club have approved plans for the Benfica District project in the country’s capital Lisbon.

The Portugal News said the project covers improvements to the area around the Estádio da Luz and was one of the campaign promises of Rui Costa, who was recently re-elected president of the club.

The Benfica District project, which aims to ‘revolutionize’ the entire area around the Estádio da Luz, and whose completion goal is the 2030 World Cup, has an estimated investment of around €220 million.

S.L. Benfica is a professional football club based in Lisbon, Portugal, that competes in the Primeira Liga, the top-flight of Portuguese football.

The 68,100-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 S.L. Benfica.

At an extraordinary General Assembly of the club, the project received 59.24% of the votes in favour, with 40.76% voting against.

Populous has led all aspects of the master plan design for the project in collaboration with the renowned Lisbon-based architecture firm Saraiva + Associados. Populous also served as the original designer of the stadium which opened in 2004.

The master plan design includes dynamic digital layer skirting the entire structure and other major improvements including:

A 10,000-capacity multipurpose indoor arena capable of hosting concerts, cultural events, esports, and major sporting events
Two state-of-the-art indoor sports halls with capacities of 2,500 and 1,500 seats, respectively, adaptable for basketball, volleyball, boxing, and more
A new community swimming pool (25x25m) with modern amenities offering a recreational resource for the fans and the residents alike
An outdoor rooftop football pitch and a running track creating immersive training and fitness environments in the heart of Lisbon
Commercial and residential facilities.

The Benfiquistas – as the club’s supporters are known – will enjoy a new pre- and post-match gathering space in the form of a 100m x 40m fan plaza in front of the stadium’s main façade.

With capacity for over 10,000 fans the plaza will feature a DJ deck and event space and will be surrounded by the food and beverage (F&B) outlets, retail and the terraced restaurants; and

The supporters will also benefit from a range of enhancements across the campus including hospitality terraces, large-format sky-screen installations and improved connectivity bridges to enhance movement and accessibility.

The project will also refresh and reinvigorate the stadium itself. A new façade – fluid and dynamic in its architecture – will redefine the stadium’s form through a contemporary lens, tempering light and heat to provide shade for the concourses and enhance fan comfort.

The president of the general assembly (MAG) of Benfica, José Pereira da Costa, reported that the vote was favourable to the project “in all types of votes”.

He highlighted the “overwhelming support” of the ‘eagles’ members at the club’s extraordinary general assembly, which had 28,338 voting members and had a voting method that allowed for in-person participation, but also remote participation, and which, according to him, will be “used and developed in the future”.

He said, “The method chosen for this deliberation deserved the support of the members. This support was so overwhelming that it generated constraints that were corrected, and which will be used to develop this method in the future.”

The Benfica District was created with the ambition of transforming the area surrounding the Estádio da Luz into a leading national and international destination for sports and entertainment, in line with the most innovative projects of its kind worldwide.

In addition to significantly improving the experience of members and fans, it aims to create a lively and dynamic, space with activities throughout the year.

It is a central part of Sport Lisboa e Benfica’s affirmation as a global club, combining identity, history, achievements, and an ambitious vision for the future.

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