Estádio da Luz


The Estádio da Luz, officially named Estádio do Sport Lisboa e Benfica, is a multi-purpose stadium located in Lisbon, Portugal. It is used mostly for association football matches, hosting the home games of Portuguese club Benfica, its owner.
Opened on 25 October 2003 with an exhibition match between Benfica and Uruguayan club Nacional, it replaced the original Estádio da Luz, which between 1985 and 1994 had a capacity of 120,000 seats. The seating capacity of the new stadium is currently set at 68,100. The stadium was designed by HOK Sport Venue Event and had a construction cost of €160 million, of which €22,596,688 was supported by the Government of Portugal for the UEFA Euro 2004.
A UEFA category four stadium and one of the biggest stadiums by capacity in Europe, Estádio da Luz hosted several matches of the UEFA Euro 2004, including its final, as well as the 2014 and 2020 finals of the UEFA Champions League. It was elected the most beautiful stadium of Europe in a 2014 online poll by L'Équipe. By its fifteenth birthday, Estádio do Sport Lisboa e Benfica Luz had welcomed more than 17 million spectators. The stadium is one of the potential venues for the 2030 FIFA World Cup, which Portugal will co-host along with Morocco and Spain.

Naming

While the previous Benfica stadium was also officially named "Estádio do Sport Lisboa e Benfica", both the old and the new stadia are invariably referred to by their unofficial name, Estádio da Luz. Luz is the name of the neighborhood the stadium was built on, on the border between the parishes of Benfica and Carnide, which itself derives its name from the nearby Igreja de Nossa Senhora da Luz. This unofficial name caught on soon after the original stadium's construction; the people of Lisbon used to simply call it a Luz. Therefore, the stadium's common name became "Estádio da Luz", which is usually anglicised to "Stadium of Light". This translation, however, could be argued to be inaccurate, since Luz refers not to "light" but to the original address of the stadium: Estrada da Luz.

Characteristics

Architect Damon Lavelle, from HOK Sport Venue Event, designed the stadium to focus on light and transparency. Its polycarbonate roof allows the sunlight to penetrate the stadium in order to illuminate it. The roof, which is supported by tie-beams of four steel arches, seems to float on the underlying tribunes. The arches are 43 metres high and help define the look of the stadium, after having been shaped to be similar to the wavy profile of its three tiers. According to Lavelle, the seating capacity may be increased up from 64,642 to 80,000. However, the most realistic option is to expand by selling standing places, which would require a change in the law.
In June 2024, Sport Lisboa e Benfica announced that it would increase the stadium's capacity to nearly 66,000 spectators by adding 950 seats in a row of seats around the stadium reserved for people with motor disabilities.
In July 2025, Benfica concluded renovations and increased the stadium capacity to 68,100 spectators.
Image:LuzLissabon.jpg|center|thumb|700px|A panorama of the Estádio da Luz on 30 July 2009

Sports events

Opening game

In the opening match, Benfica beat Uruguayan side Nacional 2–1 with goals from Nuno Gomes, who became the first ever scorer at the Estádio da Luz.

UEFA Euro 2004 Final

2014 UEFA Champions League final

Highest attendance official match

On round 33 of the 2016–17 Primeira Liga, in a match where Benfica were crowned national champions for a fourth consecutive season, Estádio da Luz recorded its best attendance in official matches.

2019–20 UEFA Champions League

Quarter-finals
'''Final'''

Portugal national team matches

The following national team matches were held in the stadium.
#DateScoreOpponentCompetition
116 June 20042–0Euro 2004 Group Stage
224 June 20042–2Euro 2004 Quarter-Finals
34 July 20040–1Euro 2004 Final
44 June 20052–02006 World Cup qualification
58 September 20072–2Euro 2008 qualifying
610 October 20093–02010 World Cup qualification
714 November 20091–02010 World Cup UEFA play-offs
817 November 20104–0Friendly
94 June 20111–0Euro 2012 qualifying
1015 November 20116–2Euro 2012 qualifying play-offs
112 June 20121–3Friendly
127 June 20131–02014 World Cup qualification
1315 November 20131–02014 World Cup UEFA play-offs
1429 March 20152–1Euro 2016 qualifying
158 June 20167–0Friendly
1625 March 20173–02018 World Cup qualification
1710 October 20172–02018 World Cup qualification
187 June 20183–0Friendly
1910 September 20181–02018–19 UEFA Nations League
2022 March 20190–0Euro 2020 qualifying
2125 March 20191–1Euro 2020 qualifying
2211 November 20207–0Friendly
2314 November 20200–12020–21 UEFA Nations League
2414 November 20211–22022 FIFA World Cup qualification
2517 June 20233–0UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying
265 September 20242–12024–25 UEFA Nations League
278 September 20242–12024–25 UEFA Nations League

Euro 2004 matches

Benfica matches in UEFA competitions

Ceremonies

Concerts

Religious meetings