Estádio Fonte Nova
Encyclopedia
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
stadium inaugurated on January 28, 1951 in Salvador, Bahia
Bahia
Bahia is one of the 26 states of Brazil, and is located in the northeastern part of the country on the Atlantic coast. It is the fourth most populous Brazilian state after São Paulo, Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro, and the fifth-largest in size...
, with a maximum capacity of 66,080 people. The stadium was owned by the Bahia government, and was the home ground of Esporte Clube Bahia
Esporte Clube Bahia
Esporte Clube Bahia , known familiarly as Bahiaço, is a Brazilian professional football club, based in Salvador, Bahia. They play in the Campeonato Baiano, Bahia's state league, and the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, Brazil's national league. Bahia was a founding member of the Clube dos 13 group...
and Esporte Clube Vitória
Esporte Clube Vitória
Esporte Clube Vitória, usually known simply as Vitória, is a Brazilian football team from Salvador in Bahia, founded on May 13, 1899.Vitória's home games are played at the club's own stadium . They play in red and black horizontal striped shirts, black shorts and black socks...
. Its formal name honors Octávio Cavalcanti Mangabeira, a civil engineer, journalist, and former Bahia state governor from 1947 to 1954.
After part of the upper terraces collapsed in 2007, killing 7 people and injuring several others, the government of Bahia announced the demolition of Fonte Nova and the construction of a new stadium, the Arena Fonte Nova, in the same place.
The stadium was nicknamed Fonte Nova because it was located at Ladeira das Fontes das Pedras.
History
The stadium construction ended in 1951. On March 4, 1971, the stadium was reinaugurated, after a great reformation involving the addition of a second tier, which expanded the maximum stadium capacity from 35,000 to 110,000. In the reinauguration day, two matches were played: Bahia against FlamengoClube de Regatas do Flamengo
Clube de Regatas do Flamengo , also known as Flamengo and familiarly as Mengão, is a Brazilian sports club based in the Flamengo bairro, Zona Sul, Rio de Janeiro, best known for its professional football team...
, and Vitória
Esporte Clube Vitória
Esporte Clube Vitória, usually known simply as Vitória, is a Brazilian football team from Salvador in Bahia, founded on May 13, 1899.Vitória's home games are played at the club's own stadium . They play in red and black horizontal striped shirts, black shorts and black socks...
against Grêmio
Grêmio Foot-Ball Porto Alegrense
Grêmio Foot-Ball Porto Alegrense, commonly known as just Grêmio , is a Brazilian professional association football team based in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul founded by English and German immigrants on September 15, 1903. Major titles captured by Grêmio include one Intercontinental Cup, two Copa...
. On that day happened a big tumult, where two people died.
The inaugural match was played on January 28, 1951, when Guarany and Botafogo, both local Bahia state teams, drew 2-1. The first goal of the stadium was scored by Guarany's Nélson.
The stadium's attendance record currently stands at 110,438, set on February 12, 1989 when Bahia beat Fluminense
Fluminense Football Club
Fluminense Football Club is a sports club based in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Founded in the beginning of the 20th century as a single-sport institution, Fluminense is today an umbrella organization for several teams in more than 16 different sport activities. The most popular endeavor of Fluminense,...
2-1.
On November 25, 2007, when the Brazilian Championship Third Division
Campeonato Brasileiro Série C 2007
In 2007, the Campeonato Brasileiro Série C, the third division of the Brazilian League, was contested by 64 clubs, with the promotion of , , , and , to the Campeonato Brasileiro Série B to be contested in 2008. No teams will be relegated, since there is no fourth division in the Brazilian...
match between Bahia and Vila Nova
Vila Nova Futebol Clube
Vila Nova Futebol Clube is a Brazilian football team from Goiânia in Goiás, founded on July 29, 1943. They play in red shirts, shorts and socks. Their nickname is 'The Tigers' . The club won the Campeonato Brasileiro Série C in 1996. Vila Nova's greatest rival is Goiás...
was nearly over with more than 60,000 supporters in attendance, a section of the stadium's highest terraces collapsed when Bahia's supporters were celebrating the club's promotion to the Brazilian Championship Second Division
Campeonato Brasileiro Série B
The Série B is the second division of Brazilian football. It is played by 20 teams. However, the competition format has changed almost every year since it first occurred, in 1971. In some years, it was not played altogether...
, killing seven people and injuring forty others. Jacques Wagner, who is the governor of Bahia state, ordered the stadium to be closed as the causes of the accident are under investigation by the authorities, and he also said on November 26, 2007 that the stadium may be demolished if its structure is compromised. On November 27, 2007, the governor of Bahia announced that Estádio Fonte Nova will be demolished, and a new stadium will be built in its place. On September 28, 2008, Bahia's governor Jaques Wagner
Jaques Wagner
Jaques Wagner is a Brazilian politician, and the current Governor of Bahia. He was a founding member of the Workers' Party , as well as the Central Única dos Trabalhadores , a union which has organized more than 7 million members. He is candidate for reelection in the 2010 Brazilian...
announced that instead of being demolished, the stadium will be reformed into a multiuse arena with a maximum capacity of 60,000 people seated.
Demolition of the Octavio Mangabeira Stadium began in June 2010 and is expected to be finished by August - the upper tier was demolished using explosives on the August 30, 2010. After the implosion, a portion of the upper tier was left standing, which is currently being dismantled manually until October. The Bahia Arena
Bahia Arena
The Arena Fonte Nova is a project for a new football-only stadium for the 2014 World Cup. The stadium is located in Salvador, Bahia and it has a maximum capacity of 50,000 people.The stadium will be built in place of the older Estádio Fonte Nova...
is being constructed as a venue for the 2016 Summer Olympics
2016 Summer Olympics
The 2016 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXXI Olympiad, are a major international multi-sport event to be celebrated in the tradition of the Olympic Games, as governed by the International Olympic Committee...
for football tournaments. During its construction, Bahia plays in Estádio de Pituaçu
Estádio de Pituaçu
Estádio Metropolitano Roberto Santos, usually known as Estádio de Pituaçu, is a football stadium located in Salvador, Bahia state, Brazil. The stadium is owned by the Government of Bahia state and it was built in 1979...
.