Estádio Leonardo Vinagre da Silveira, commonly known as Estádio da Graça, is an association football stadium located in Cruz das Armas neighborhood, João Pessoa

João Pessoa

João Pessoa , is the capital city of the state of Paraíba, was founded in 1585 and sometimes called the city where the sun rises first, is a Brazilian city and the easternmost city in the Americas at 34º47'38"W, 7º9'28"S. Local residents call its easternmost point Ponta do Seixas. It is also...

, Paraíba

Paraíba

Paraíba Paraíba Paraíba (Tupi: pa'ra a'íba: "bad to navigation"; Brazilian Portuguese pronunciation: is a state of Brazil. It is located in the Brazilian Northeast, and is bordered by Rio Grande do Norte to the north, Ceará to the west, Pernambuco to the south and the Atlantic Ocean to the east...

, Brazil

Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

.

History

The first game at the stadium was played during his inauguration, on January 9, 1944, when Dolaport and Santa Cruz

Santa Cruz Futebol Clube

Santa Cruz Futebol Clube, or simply Santa Cruz is a Brazilian football club in Recife, Pernambuco.-Early history:On February 3, 1914, eleven young men aging from 14 to 16 years founded a football society...

 drew 2-2. The first goal of the stadium was scored by Dolaport's Odilon, during the 17th minute of the game.

During the April 14, 2002 Campeonato do Nordeste

Campeonato do Nordeste

Campeonato do Nordeste , also known as Copa do Nordeste or Copa Nordeste , is a Brazilian football competition contested between Northeastern region teams .From 1997 to 1999, the Campeonato do...

 game between Botafogo-PB

Botafogo Futebol Clube (PB)

Botafogo Futebol Clube, usually known as Botafogo, or as Botafogo da Paraíba, is a Brazilian football club from João Pessoa, Paraíba state.-History:...

 and Sport

Sport Club do Recife

Sport Club do Recife, more popularly known as Sport in Recife or Sport Recife in Northeastern Brazil, is a football team from Recife, Pernambuco.-1905 - Foundation:...

, the stadium reached its highest attendance ever: approximately seven thousand people watched the game.

On July 7, 2008, the stadium's most ambitious reformation started, with the purpose to adequate it to FIFA

FIFA

The Fédération Internationale de Football Association , commonly known by the acronym FIFA , is the international governing body of :association football, futsal and beach football. Its headquarters are located in Zurich, Switzerland, and its president is Sepp Blatter, who is in his fourth...

's and Supporter's Statute's regulations. The stadium area was expanded from 1,419 m² to 2,118 m². The works were concluded on March 27, 2010, costing approximately R$3,5 million.

Structure

After the reformation, the stadium was upgraded with three sets of covered bleachers, supporting approximately 5,000 seated people, a luxury box, two bars and six bathroom areas. The field was improved with a new type of grass and a new floodlight system. The locker room for athletes and referees was improved. It has six cabins for the news media.