Brazil Stadiums: Estádio do Morumbi, São Paulo
Estádio do Morumbi, São Paulo
Estadio do Morumbi officially called Estádio Cícero Pompeu de Toledo and known as MorumBIS for sponsorship reasons is one of Brazil's most famous football stadiums.
Located in the Morumbi district of São Paulo, it serves as the home ground of São Paulo Futebol Clube and is widely regarded as one of South America's most iconic sporting venues. The stadium currently holds around 72,000 spectators, making it the third-largest stadium in Brazil behind the Maracana in Rio in first place.
Capacity & History
The idea for the stadium emerged in the 1950s as São Paulo FC wanted a large, modern venue to host major football matches. Construction began in 1952, and the stadium was officially inaugurated in 1960 with a match against Sporting CP from Portugal.
The stadium was named after Cícero Pompeu de Toledo, a former president of São Paulo FC who played a key role in its development. It was designed by João Batista Vilanova Artigas, an influential Brazilian modernist architect.
Originally designed for massive crowds, Morumbi's capacity once reached around 140,000 spectators in the 1970s.
The stadium's attendance record occurred in 1977, when 138,032 fans watched Corinthians defeat Ponte Preta.
Over time, safety regulations and the addition of seats reduced capacity to about 72,000 today.
Morumbi has undergone several renovations since the 1990s to modernize facilities and improve safety.
The ground hosted matches of the Copa América 2019 (including the opening match) and is a popular venue in Brazil for large concerts. Oasis, AC/DC and Linkin Park have all played here in recent years.
There are also tours of the stadium available for visitors. Tours typically include the Memorial (trophy room), press room, locker rooms, and the pitchside area.
São Paulo FC
Nicknamed 'Tricolor Paulista' or 'O Clube da Fé', São Paulo FC play their home games at the stadium. The club was founded in 1930 and play in a predominately all white kit with red and black horizontal stripes on the home shirts forming a tricolor with the white background.
São Paulo is one of the most successful football clubs in Brazil with over 40 official titles.
Some famous players to have represented the club include 1980s' stars Careca and Müller. Both Roberto Carlos and Kaká began their careers at the club, Cafu (1989-1995), Rivaldo (39 games on loan in 2011), Dani Alves (2019-21) and Adriano (19 games on loan in 2008) have all represented the colors.
Goalkeeper Rogério Ceni is the club's all time record appearance holder with 870 games for the team. He is also recognised by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics as the goalkeeper to have scored the most goals in the history of football.
Serginho Chulapa (1973-1982) is Sao Paulo FC's all-time leading goalscorer with over 240 goals.
Access
Visitors can reach the stadium on the São Paulo Metro. Take Line 4 (Yellow) and get off at São Paulo-Morumbi Station. From here, walk about 25 minutes south to the stadium. Several city buses stop near the stadium along Avenida Giovanni Gronchi, one of the main roads in the district.
Address: Praça Roberto Gomes Pedrosa, 1 Morumbi, São Paulo
Accessibility
The stadium has designated wheelchair seating and toilets for disabled supporters.
Hotels in Brazil
Find Hotels in Sao Paulo
Accommodation options reasonably close to the stadium include the 3-star Hs Hotel Morumbi, the Mansão Morumbi 91, and the Wyndham Sao Paulo Berrini.
See a selection of available hotels in Sao Paulo.
Gallery
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