<\/p>\n

Key facts<\/h3>\n

Club: S\u00e3o Paulo FC | Opening: 1960 | Capacity: 72,809<\/p>\n

History and description<\/h3>\n

In the early 1950s S\u00e3o Paulo started a search for a site to build a new stadium. They finally managed to buy a plot of land in the Morumbi area, at that time an inhabited area of forests and swamplands still outside the city.<\/p>\n

In 1953 the club presented their plans for the construction of a massive concrete stadium that could hold 120,000 fans. Due to its location these were initially received with scepticism, and obtaining funding turned out to be troublesome.<\/p>\n

After several years of preparation, construction of Morumbi finally started in 1956. Works had progressed significantly by the middle of 1960, though were still nowhere near being completed yet. Still, the club decided to move in for the benefit of increased revenues, and on the 2nd of October 1960 the stadium officially opened with a match between S\u00e3o Paulo and Sporting Clube do Portugal (1-0).<\/p>\n

The stadium was officially named Est\u00e1dio C\u00edcero Pompeu de Toledo, but it got soon referred to as Morumbi.<\/p>\n

While the club had the intention to continue with the works, these stalled due to insufficient funding. It took until 1969 for construction to resume and one more year for the stadium to be completed. Morumbi was once more inaugurated on the 25th of January 1970 with a friendly against FC Porto. It could hold a total of 140,000 spectators at that time.<\/p>\n

Few changes were made to the stadium in the next decades until it underwent an upgrade in the late 1990s. This also reduced the capacity of the stadium to its current total. While the official capacity of Morumbi is 72,809, often not more than 62,000 tickets are available for sale.<\/p>\n

A few years ago, Sao Paulo announced plans for a major redevelopment of Morumbi, which would include the construction of a roof that will cover all seats. Thus far the stadium has only received some refurbishments including the installation of new seats.<\/p>\n\n\n \t\t\n\t\t\t\t

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(photos of the present Morumbi below)<\/p>\n

How to get to Morumbi<\/h3>\n

Est\u00e1dio do Morumbi is located in the south-west of the city of Sao Paulo, about 11 kilometres from the city\u2019s downtown and about 8 kilometres from the Avenida Paulista \u2013 Jardim Paulista area.<\/p>\n

There is no metro station close to the stadium, but it can be reached with several buses<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Bus 5118 (direction Term. Jo\u00e3o Dias) and 5119 (to Term. Capelinha) can be taken from Avenida Brig. Luis Antonio in downtown. Line 647A, 647P, and 775F all leave from the Av Brig. Faria Lima in the Pinheiros area.<\/p>\n

Address: Pra\u00e7a Roberto Gomes Pedroza 1, Morumbi, S\u00e3o Paulo<\/p>\n