Benfica exec details vision for 120,000-seat stadium

Benfica vice-president, Rui Passo, has set out his vision for the Portuguese Primeira Liga football club to return to having a 120,000-capacity home, arguing that its current stadium has expansion limitations.

Passo’s comments, in an interview with in-house platform BTV, come after president Rui Costa in November confirmed that the Lisbon club will upgrade capacity to 70,000 seats. The Estádio do Sport Lisboa e Benfica, commonly known as the Estádio da Luz, currently holds 65,592 fans.

The current Estádio da Luz opened in October 2003, replacing the original stadium of the same name which could house 120,000 fans at its peak and was Benfica’s home from 1954 to 2003. Passo stated that a new stadium would have to provide the “legendary capacity that all Benfica fans are thinking about, 120,000 seats”.

He continued: “We cannot go beyond 70,000 in this stadium, for reasons of safety, comfort and regulation. We have to start thinking about a new stadium.”

When asked whether his vision represents a long-term ambition, Passo argued the “long term is just around the corner” while setting out how the current stadium could be repurposed. “There are two sports in which we want to be stronger, women’s football and rugby,” he said.

“This stadium can be the home of women’s football and rugby. I want to dream of crowds of 40, 50 and 60 thousand people watching rugby and women’s football matches. We must start dreaming about a new stadium.”

Some 950 extra seats were added to the Estádio da Luz last summer, with the project to reach 70,000 expected to be complete by the 2026-27 season. Passo also revealed that Benfica expects to hit the landmark of 400,000 members by the club’s anniversary date of February 28, adding that this, along with other figures, demonstrates the ability to fill a 120,000-seat stadium.

He added: “We have full boxes with waiting lists. We have executive seats with waiting lists. We have red pass seats with a huge waiting list. Roughly speaking, it is not difficult to increase the number of red pass seats from 45,000 to 70,000, executive seats from 5,000 to 10,000 and boxes from 150 to 300.

“We have a waiting list to buy these seats (almost 17,000 for the red pass). It is quite possible to start thinking seriously about a project like this.”