Arena da Baixada

Full name	Estádio Joaquim Américo Guimarães
Location	Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil
Coordinates	25°26′54″S 49°16′37″W / 25.44833°S 49.27694°W
Broke ground	December 1, 1997
Opened	June 24, 1999
Renovated	2009, 2012–2014
Owner	Clube Atlético Paranaense
Surface	Bermuda Tifway 419
Capacity	28,413 (expand to 43,900)
Record attendance	31,700 (Atlético Paranaense vs São Caetano, December 16, 2001)
Field dimensions	105 x 68 m (344 x 223 ft)
Tenants	Atlético Paranaense 2014 FIFA World Cup

                                              

                                                    

                                                               Estádio Joaquim Américo Guimarães, commonly referred to as Arena da Baixada (Portuguese pronunciation: [aˈɾẽnɐ dɐ bajˈʃadɐ), is a football stadium in the Água Verde neighborhood of Curitiba, Paraná. Opened in 1914, it is the home field of Atlético Paranaense, who also owns and operates the stadium. The stadium will be one of the host venues for the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

History

·         Match against São Paulo in the 2009 Séries A

·         Project for the Arena da Baixada

·         The stadium was built at the previous location of a Brazilian Army powder depot. In 1934, the stadium was renamed Estádio Joaquim Américo Guimarães. In the 1970s, the original stadium was closed down. After being reopened in 1984 and operating for some years, the old stadium building was demolished on March 26, 1997, right after a construction project of a new arena was announced. In June 1999, the new stadium was built. In 2005, the stadium was renamed Kyocera Arena, after the Japanese company Kyocera purchased the naming rights.

·         The inaugural match of the old stadium was played on September 6, 1914, when Flamengo beat Internacional 7–1. The first goal of the stadium was scored by Flamengo's Arnaldo.

·         The inaugural match of the new building was played on June 24, 1999, when Atlético Paranaense beat Cerro Porteño of Paraguay 2–1. The first goal of the stadium after its reinauguration was scored by Atlético's Lucas.

·         The stadium's attendance record currently stands at 31,740, set on December 16, 2001 when Atlético Paranaense beat São Caetano 4–2, on the first game of that year's Brazilian Championship finals. Although the stadium was not the venue of the 1950 FIFA World Cup, the Estádio Vila Capanema was the venue for Curitiba as a host city of the event but Arena da Baixada is older the Vila Capanema.

·         The contract with Kyocera that gave the company naming rights expired in early 2008. It was not renewed, and no new partnership was announced. The stadium went back to its old name, Arena da Baixada.

·         Ever since renovation works were completed in June 1999, the historic Estádio Joaquim Américo has been considered[by whom? one of Brazil’s most modern and best-appointed stadiums.

·         It came as no surprise, therefore, that the home ground of Atlético Paranaense, which was originally constructed back in 1914, was among those venues chosen to host games at the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

·         Prior to welcoming the global showpiece, however, the stadium will undergo another set of renovation works which are due for completion in 2014. Included in this process are a series of improvements in facilities and the addition of rows of extra seats parallel to the pitch as well as enclosing the stadium with a retractable roof. This will result in an increased capacity of 40,000, with the stadium set to welcome four World Cup matches.

                                              

·         Building work at the stadium was suspended in October 2013 on the orders of a Brazilian labour tribunal due to numerous and serious safety breaches. “Countless infractions have been committed, in various stages of the building project,” wrote the judge Lorena Colnago in her decision, the Paraná Regional Labour Tribunal said in a statement.

·         On January 22, 2014, FIFA General Secretary Jerome Valcke visited the site and stated that Curitiba could be dropped as a World Cup host city if sufficient progress in the renovation of the arena was not shown by February 18, 2014. On that day, FIFA decided to keep Curitiba as a playing city.

2014 FIFA World Cup

Date	Time (UTC-03)	Team #1	Res.	Team #2	Round
June 16, 2014	16:00	Iran	Match 12	Nigeria	Group F
June 20, 2014	19:00	Honduras	Match 26	Ecuador	Group E
June 23, 2014	13:00	Australia	Match 35	Spain	Group B
June 26, 2014	17:00	Algeria	Match 48	Russia	Group H