Муниципальный стадион Браги: Архитектурная жемчужина Португалии

Football stadium in Braga, Portugal

The Municipal Stadium of Braga (Estádio Municipal de Braga) is an all seater football stadium located in Braga, Portugal, and the current home of Sporting Clube de Braga. It has a capacity of 30,286 spectators, making it the seventh largest football stadium in Portugal. The stadium was designed by Portuguese architect Eduardo Souto de Moura who was awarded the Pritzker Architecture Prize in part for this design. Nicknamed A Pedreira (The Quarry), for being carved into the side of a hill at its south end, the stadium was built in 2003 as a venue for the UEFA Euro 2004.

The project to build a stadium was developed in 2000 by architect Eduardo Souto Moura. On 5 June, the program to build the new municipal stadium for the European championships in 2004 began, promoted by the municipal council of Braga. the third most expensive of the ten new stadia built for Euro 2004, after Estádio da Luz (capacity: 64,642) and Estádio do Dragão (capacity: 50,033) in Porto, and beating Estádio José Alvalade (capacity: 50,095). A football game between Sporting Braga and Celta Vigo inaugurated the opening of the stadium on 30 December 2003. The stadium became a UEFA approved site to host the UEFA Europa League final, as well as participation in the elite competition for Europe's top clubs, the UEFA Champions League. During the UEFA European Championship in 2004, it was the site of various matches including: the 13th game, between Group C teams Bulgaria and Denmark (18 June 2004) and the 23rd match between Group D teams Netherlands and Latvia (22 June 2004). A Financial Times article on Britain's stadia referred to the municipal stadium as one of the four examples of "beautiful grounds", noting that: "There has been nothing in this country to match the architectural delight of Eduardo Souto de Moura’s stadium for Braga in Portugal, a breathtaking arena carved into the side of a rock face on the site of a former quarry." In July 2007, Sporting Braga announced a three year sponsorship deal with French insurance company AXA, which included a promotional change to the name of the municipal stadium by the club. Following this agreement, promoters and team officials began to refer to the municipal stadium of Braga as the Estádio AXA (AXA Stadium). However, the municipality (as landlord) clarified that the stadium had not been officially renamed, as this was a deal between its tenant and its partner. On 23 October 2009, the process to classify the stadium ran out, under terms of article 78 (decree 309/2009), but was prorogued on 23 October.

The stadium is situated in an isolated, urban area on the north flank of Monte do Castro, in the sporting park of Dume. The stadium was carved from the Monte do Castro quarry that overlooked Braga; stands were constructed on either side of the pitch, while one of the goal backdrops was carved from the rock walls of the quarry. The opposite goal backdrop is dominated by the city sprawl. Each stand is covered with a canopy style roof and connected by dozens of steel strings, a design inspired by ancient South American Incan bridges. Movement between stands is accomplished through a plaza under the pitch.