The 52,000-capacity Estádio do Drãgao officially opened on the 16th November 2003 and hosted the opening ceremony for the European Championships in 2004. The complex includes a conference centre, leisure facilities, shopping areas and restaurants, all linked to the different levels in the stands. UEFA have classified it as a five-star stadium.
Location of the Ground in the City
The Estádio do Drãgaois located in the northeast of the city centre on Avenida Fernão de Magalhães.
General Ground Information
The stadium has two giant rotating screens, one at either end of the pitch, and on non-match days the screens are turned to face the plaza around the stadium so that they support other facilities, as well as showing programmes produced by the stadium’s own private television company. The stadium also contains sections decorated with traditional Portuguese tiles - azulejos.
Stands are all covered by a transparent roof referred to as ‘the veil’ and the stadium stands a massive 14 storeys high. As with most of the stadiums unveiled for Euro 2004, it has a certain ‘wow’ factor which makes watching a game in the ground a pleasurable experience – depending on the score!
With all the UEFA Champions League advertising, space for hanging flags is limited though there is space behind the advertising boards surrounding the pitch.
Getting to the Ground (By Public Transport)
Metro: The Antas Metro Station is the main Metro Station. There is a direct metro line from Campanhã Railway Station, the terminus for the fast Alfa/Pendular trains between Lisbon and Porto, making the metro an excellent choice for those arriving in Porto by train. The airport is approximately 15 kilometres from the stadium and there are direct buses to the city centre.
By bus: There are plenty of buses from Portugal’s main cities to Porto. STCP (Porto’s bus company) No 21 and No 78 buses, with stops in Rotunda da Boavista and Avenida dos Aliados, respectively, go to the stadium area from Praça da Liberdade
Getting to the Ground (By Car)
By car: The stadium is located about 500 metres from FC Porto’s previous stadium. The stadium has direct access to the VCI - Porto’s ring road - and the Portuguese motorway network. The slip roads to the A1, A3 and A4 motorways to Lisbon, Guimarães and Braga are a short distance away.
