Estádio José Alvalade, Portugal (1956–2003)
Sporting Clube de Portugal
The Estádio José Alvalade was Sporting Clube de Portugal’s sixth stadium. Inaugurated in 1956, it became the longest-lived stadium in the club’s history, remaining active for almost half a century, until it was demolished in 2003.
The intention to build a new and grandiose stadium came from Sporting’s motivation to consolidate itself as one of the biggest and most modern clubs in Portugal, which at the time was going through one of the most victorious periods in its history, winning most of the national tournaments. The Estádio José Alvalade was designed in the early 1950s by architect and football coach Anselmo Fernandez, who curiously became the club’s coach in the following decade, winning the 1963–64 UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup. In 1956, the new stadium was completed and its inauguration was celebrated in a match between Sporting and the Brazilian club Vasco da Gama, which ended up defeating the home club by 2x3 in front of an audience of 60,000 people.
During the nearly 50 years in which it has existed, the Estádio José Alvalade has been the scene of glorious moments in the history of Sporting, with 9 of the total of 19 titles won in the Primeira Liga and 8 of the 17 Cup of Portugal, in addition to the aforementioned and much celebrated UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup. Besides football, the stadium also played host to several important shows from world attractions, such as Michael Jackson, The Cure, David Bowie, The Rolling Stones, Elton John and Pink Floyd, among others.
In the late 1990s, Sporting decided it was time to have a more modern stadium with more infrastructure. With Portugal’s decision to host the 2004 UEFA Euro, the club also saw the opportunity to have its new stadium as one of the venues for the tournament. Therefore, on January 15, 2001, the construction of the new stadium began on the same land as the Estádio José Alvalade, although it was slightly out of place, which allowed the works to begin with the old stadium still in operation. On May 24, 2003, they played their last match at the José Alvalade stadium, in a 3x4 defeat by Vitória Futebol Clube de Setúbal. Days later, demolition began to make way for the new stadium, which was almost finished and would bear the same name, following the legacy of the Estádio José Alvalade.
