Mineirão

Mineirão Stadium
	Mineirão
Full name	Estádio Governador Magalhães Pinto
Location	Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil
Broke ground	1959
Built	1960-1965
Opened	1965
Owner	Minas Gerais State Government; UFMG (terrain)
Operator	ADEMG
Surface	Grass
Capacity	75.000
Field dimensions	120 x 80 m
Tenants
	Atlético Mineiro; Cruzeiro EC

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Estádio Mineirão (meaning Big Mineiro Stadium), officially Estádio Governador Magalhães Pinto (Governor Magalhães Pinto Stadium) established in 1965 after Governor Magalhães Pinto, is the largest football stadium in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil, and one of the strongest candidates to be a host stadium in the 2014 FIFA World Cup to be held in the country.

On February 25, 1960, the government of the Union and the Federal University of Minas Gerais gave Minas Gerais land in the neighborhood of Pampulha, Belo Horizonte, for the construction of the stadium.

The Mineirão was planned by Eduardo Mendes Guimarães Júnior and Caspar Garreto, both architects. The structural project was undertaken by engineer Arthur Eugênio Jermann. The construction workmanship was directed by engineer Gil Cesar Moreira de Abreu. From 1963 to the date of its inauguration on September 5, 1965, approximately five thousand people were involved in the construction.

The festivities marking the opening of the stadium included parachute jumpers, music, and an inaugural football match. The events were attended by 73,201 people. The inaugural match at Mineirão Stadium was played by the Minas Gerais state team and the Argentinian team, River Plate.

Cruzeiro plays Corinthians at the stadium during 2006.

It is said that Mineirão had held 132,834 people in 1997 in the match between Cruzeiro and Villa Nova in the final match of the state league, but in this match, women and children did not have to pay. The paying attendance was 74,857, and there were 56,618 women and children who entered for free. For safety reasons the capacity of Mineirão had been reduced for the majority of its 40 years of history. In 2004, by imposition of FIFA, the capacity of the stadium was reduced to less than 72,000 people.

To apply for FIFA's requirements and be used in the 2014 World Cup, the stadium will undergo reforms, to finish the ceiling above the audience and widen the parking lot.

View of the stadium's entrance from ground level.

Since the stadium's opening, three important teams in Belo Horizonte have hosted their matches in Mineirão: Atlético Mineiro, Cruzeiro Esporte Clube and América Mineiro (which also has a private stadium). Mineirão has also hosted matches of the Brazilian national team.

Atlético Mineiro is the club which has brought more people to Mineirão Stadium: through 2002, 20,887,391 people watched 1,011 matches of Atlético. In close second is Cruzeiro, with 19,544,507 attendees of 1,062 matches. These statistics do not include derbies.

The stadium is also used for music festivals.