The Portuguese are emulating US stadia projects by building additional commercial developments - an idea which has rescued one of the biggest Euro 2004 projects, Steve Menary reports.

The Estadio da Luz (Stadium of Light) is the much-celebrated home of Portugal's most successful football team, Benfica - its new incarnation, left (82k) and above (44k), has been designed by HOK Sport+Venue+Event.  

hen UEFA, European soccer's governing body, decided to award Portugal the right to host its next major championship ahead of Spain and a joint Austro-Hungarian submission or entry the move was widely seen as a surprise.

UEFA had taken the decision to try and reinvigorate the sport in a country, where attendances at Portugal's top flight matches in La Liga, often struggle to reach five figures.

This decision was beginning to look a brave one when, in the summer of 2001, UEFA threatened to strip the championships from the Portuguese Football Federation (PFF).

The move came after UEFA's stadium commission led by Ernie Walker visited Portugal and decided that work had not started on enough of the stadia projects planned to host Euro 2004. UEFA backed down but finance has been the main cause of the delays. 

Euro 2004 should generate 96 million Escudos (£300 million) for the Portuguese economy but the stadia will cost a similar amount and finding cash to start the schemes has been problematic as Gilberto Parca Madail, president of the PFF, admits.

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Estadio da Luz Stadium 

The new Estadio da Luz Stadium will be fourth generation, incorporating technology and design ahead of it's time and HOK Sport + Venue + Event (the new name for HOK Sport) has been cautious to maintain continuity between the old stadium and this new facility. 

The Estadio da Luz (Stadium of Light) is the much-celebrated home of Portugal's most successful football team Benfica. The stadium opened in 1954 and, before the introduction of seating, could hold a massive 120 000 spectators. Now, HOK Sport + Venue + Event (HOK SVE) has been enlisted to redesign this architectural icon whilst retaining it's cult status. A challenge not for the faint hearted.

Euro 2004, being held in Portugal, is demanding ten new stadium developments connected with the competition. The new stadium being designed by HOK SVE for Sport Lisboa e Benfica will seat 65,000 over four tiers, with approximately 9,000 accommodated in the club or middle tiers. It is likely to retain the Estadio da Luz name - indeed, the design purposely includes elements which will mean the building will literally be flooded with sunlight (weather permitting...!). 

The project is being financed and developed by a joint equity partnership between the main contractor, Somague, Portuguese bank Banco Espirito Santos, the Portuguese government and the Club itself. The project cost is estimated at £75 million and completion is expected to be in August 2003 when the test event schedule commences.

The new Stadium will be fourth generation, incorporating technology and design ahead of its time. However, HOK SVE has been cautious to maintain continuity between the Estadio da Luz of old which attracted visitors from all corners of the world, and this new facility. The Estadio da Luz was known as 'the cathedral' and amongst fans travelling to see Benfica, it would be common to hear them refer to it as 'the light'. In keeping with this, the new stadium has three key features: 

lightness of structure... the new design incorporates soaring monumental arches rising above the floating roof plane

transparency of envelope... extensive use of glazing in walls, and both the edges and corners of the roof

openness of planning... the two main concourses run directly between the pitch and outside areas plus the temperate climate has meant that the upper level is completely unenclosed, with shelter structures over at bars and concessions - occupants can enjoy complete interaction with the newly re-planned streets, parks and plazas below.

In addition, extensive upgrading to local infrastructure is being carried out - including tunnels to service areas and large public car parks. Pathways are being constructed to the nearby Metro stations as well as a series of public parks to enhance the local environment and add to long-term sustainability. 

A stadium tour, museum and other attractions will be available for the vast numbers of tourists the ground attracts - these are set to rival the impressive displays at Manchester United's Old Trafford. And with the grounds open 365 days of the year, other facilities have been incorporated so that the stadium and associated buildings serve as a permanent amenity to local people - 45,000sqm of space will include everything from a 3,500sqm health club with pool, family restaurants and entertainment centre and a full range of sporting facilities, as is common to Portuguese clubs. 

These include national competition standard facilities for basketball, roller hockey, volleyball, five-a-side football, billiards, badminton and other sporting pursuits ranging from tae kwondo to rhythmic gymnastics. 

In addition, the main stadium will have a minimum of six conference rooms adjacent to club catering facilities, which are also designed to complement the extensive central presidential box facilities. 

Construction of Benfica's new stadium is now well under way and on schedule, ready to play it's part in hosting the Euro 2004 Championships and also in forming a new source of entertainment and income for the local community.

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"Until now, our major concern has been to follow very closely all of the developments and processes, especially bureaucratic ones, for the financial plans which guarantee the building of ten stadiums," says Mr Madail. "That has never been done before in Europe - ten stadiums for a country."

The PFF's original bid involved local councils providing half of the finance for the stadia, with the government and private sponsorship expected to put in 25 percent apiece.

The government provided E995m (£3.1m) towards preparatory work on the ten stadia in 2000, and the Portuguese are trying to emulate US stadia projects in building extra commercial developments to help projects succeed financially - an idea which has rescued one of the biggest Euro 2004 projects.

Benfica was faced with two costly options; upgrade its legendary Stadium of Light in Lisbon at a cost of E10.3bn (£32m) or demolish the ground and build a new one at a cost of E23.8bn (£75m).

Unlike in the US, many Portuguese soccer sides are members clubs and the proposals were put to Benfica's fans in September 2000. Out of 41,459 votes cast, 92.4 per cent opted for the rebuilding, which would provide a 65,000 capacity ground.

The Portuguese government agreed to provide more money in the shape of an E5.1bn (£15.8m) grant and a multinational project team was assembled including local outfit Somague as a contractor, Australian engineers Sinclair Knight Merz and HOK SVE, the architectural giant specialising in stadia.

The scheme includes a museum, health and fitness club, offices, a themed restaurant, a club megastore and a leisure club to provide an income outside of sporting events.

Petal Power

HOK SVE director Senior Principal Rod Sheard has pioneered this idea in the US and likens building a stadium to the layers of petals on a flower. He explains: "How do you add petals? What are petals all about? Petals are actually about satisfying the spectator, giving customers what they want. In sport we haven't been very successful over the years in trying to give our customers what they want. 

"By providing a range of viewing facilities, which is the first level of petals, in any venue - from the high quality, comfortable seats right in the prime viewing position to the very simple, perhaps standing, terraces - you're giving people a range of services and your financial sustainability is starting to improve because you're starting to attract more attention from those bees overhead."

The design for the stadium at Faro (61k).

Benfica, which has not won La Liga since 1993 and is battling with the government over alleged non-payment of taxes, hopes that the scheme will revive the club. The project is one of two in the Euro 2004 programme that is being designed by HOK SVE - but the other scheme in Faro has also had problems.

Dutch contractor Ballast worked on the original design but was substituted for US architect Skidmore Merrill Owings (SOM), which was then replaced by HOK SVE. SOM remains baffled. SOM spokeswoman Liz Kubany said: "There was a design competition for this project into which SOM entered and won. However, our design was never built, they ended up opting for a different design but we were never quite clear as to why." HOK declined to comment.

UK engineers WS Atkins are also working on the design, which will again emulate US stadia as the project - for the two local municipalities of Faro and Loule - is the first phase of a larger development at a 12 ha site on the Algarve.

WS Atkins' project manager David McLaughlan said: "The main feature of the project is the dramatic fabric roof, which is suspended by a system of catenary cables spanning 210m between the tops of the four 72m high mast structures located in the corner of the stadium."

Local Talent

Portuguese firms such as architects Tomas Taveira, which is working on the projects at Leiria and Aveiro, have taken most of the work on the Euro 2004 stadia programme.

The stadium at Aveiro in northern Portugal is one of the schemes where the cost has escalated sharply, shooting up from an original estimate of E5.8bn (£18m) to E8bn (£25m).

Private sponsorship has proved hard to find and the local council has agreed to provide 75 per cent of the finance with the remainder paid by the government.

Attracting private developers has proved possible at Guimaraes, where five new hotels are being built near the stadium, and also in Braga, where a sports centre, artificial ski slope, basketball arena and Olympic swimming pool are being built to accompany the soccer ground, which is being built by another local company, Soares da Costa.

The local council is providing E2.5m (£7.9m) towards the total cost of the stadium with Soares da Costa taking a 40 per cent stake in the project in an innovative deal that has also been used to get another project at Coimbra in central Portugal up and running.

Soares da Costa has taken a 60 per cent stake in the Coimbra project, which is being designed by local architect PLAARQ in partnership with UK practice, KSS Sports and Leisure Design Ltd, and additional non-sports developments are again planned.

In addition to the stadia, the scheme will also include 12,000 sqm of commercial and retail development, 1,400 sqm of restaurants and bars, a five-screen multiplex cinema, a 1,850 sq m health club and a ten-pin bowling alley.

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Coimbra Stadium Complex

KSS Sports and Leisure Design are the appointed Master Planners and Architects on a mixed use multi-purpose 30,000-seat stadium in Coimbra, which will act as one of the host venues for the Euro 2004 Championships.

The development will also include a new multi-purpose sports hall with a capacity of 4,500, an Olympic size swimming complex, a new public square and underground car parking, health club, multiplex cinema and a further 25,000sqm of commercial, retail and office accommodation.

Construction has now started and will be complete by July 2003. The overall construction budget for the stadium works is $19m. KSS Sports and Leisure Design is working in association with the local Portuguese practice Plarq on this project.

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The Size of the Prize

Andy Simons, a director of KSS Sports and Leisure Design Ltd, said: "The economic risks of building a mid-size football stadium in a small city for a one-off tournament has prompted Coimbra to develop a multi-purpose facility where the size of the prize lies in both its commercial and entertainment potential."

KSS Sports and Leisure Design Ltd is also working on two other Euro 2004 schemes and is providing a technical audit for the clients on grounds at Aveiro and Oporto. 

The latter is one of two arenas being built in the northern city of Oporto, where KSS Sports and Leisure Design Ltd is working on the larger of the two schemes for FC Porto. The club is one of only three Portuguese soccer clubs to have floated on the country's stock exchange.

Boavista, FC Porto's city rivals who are playing in the Champions League with some success this season, also recently floated on the stock exchange to raise funds for the revamp of its stadium.

The other quoted Portuguese club is Sporting Lisbon, which has encountered far less problems than cross-city rival, Benfica.

Dutch firm Ballast, which built the Amsterdam ArenA and the UK's own Stadium of Light in Sunderland, were the project developers and financial engineers for the Sporting Lisbon stadia. They carried out the preliminary feasibility study to the level where the club could then source locally.

After a blessing from a priest, work started on 4 February 2001 and is scheduled for completion by July 2003.

The idea of getting a priest to bless a project is an anathema in many countries such as the US or the UK but the stadia programme has proved so nerve wracking that the PFF obviously feels it needs extra insurance from above to make absolutely sure that UEFA's deadline is met!  

Thanks to Andy Simons of KSS Sports and Leisure Design and Victoria Caesar of HOK Sport + Venue + Event. Additional reporting by Katie Else.
  

  
F.C. Porto, Euro 2004 Semi Final Stadium

In August 2000, F.C. Porto appointed KSS Sports and Leisure Design as the Club's Stadium Design Advisor for their new £70m 50,000 capacity stadium and entertainment complex. This stadium is under construction on a site adjacent to F.C. Porto's existing stadium and will form the focal point of a major urban regeneration scheme.

This stadium will be one of the major host stadiums for Euro 2004 and is being designed to host the Semi final of this competition.

KSS Sports and Leisure Design have worked closely with F.C. Porto during this period to define the overall development brief and design standards for the new stadium. During the last ten months KSS Sports and Leisure Design has also worked closely with the appointed Design and Build Contractor on the design of the stadium to ensure that the overall design not only meets UEFA's requirements for Euro 2004 but will also provide F.C. Porto with a state of the art stadium which will meet all international spectator safety and comfort standards. 

Programme in brief...
Portugal's stadia programme for the Euro 2004 finals:

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