Estadio do Maracana – tournament stadium description

In late 2010 extensive redevelopment began, part of 2014 World Cup preparations. Due to historical value of the stadium decision was made to preserve as much of the original stadium as possible. The plan was to rebuilt only lower tier of stands (bringing them closer to the pitch) and expand the concrete roof. However, over the course of demolition works it proved impossible for old roof to hold extra weight of planned membrane expansion, resulting in demolition of the entire cover.

Works caused numerous controversies and opponents emphasized that parts of limited value were preserved – the stadium was listed as national heritage monument for its cultural value, not architectural. Meanwhile, along with revamping authorities also removed indigenous museum from the stadium and decided to privatise it for the first time, inciting protests.

Works were carried out with significant delays and cost $500 million, a lot more than initially planned.

World Cup games:

Phase	Game	Attendance	Date (local time)
Group F	Argentina 2–1 Bosnia and Herzegowina	74,738	16/06/2014 19:00
Group B	Spain 0–2 Chile	74,101	18/06/2014 16:00
Group H	Belgium 1–0 Russia	73,819	22/06/2014 13:00
Group E	Ecuador 0–0 France	73,749	25/06/2014 17:00
Round of 16	Colombia 2–0 Uruguay	73,804	28/06/2014 17:00
Quarterfinal	France 0–1 Germany	74,240	04/07/2014 13:00
FINAL	Germany 1-0 Argentina	74,738	13/07/2014 16:00
	10 goals / Avg: 1.43	Total: 519,189 / Avg: 74,170