Estádio Vila Belmiro
| Vila Belmiro | |
Estádio Urbano Caldeira
|
|
| Location | Rua Princesa Isabel, Vila Belmiro neighborhood, Santos, Brazil |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 23°57′4″S 46°20′20″W / 23.95111°S 46.33889°WCoordinates: 23°57′4″S 46°20′20″W / 23.95111°S 46.33889°W |
| Owner | Santos FC |
| Operator | Santos FC |
| Capacity | 16,068 |
| Record attendance | 31,662 (Santos vs Palmeiras, 15 February 1976) |
| Field size | 105 × 80 m (114.8 × 87.5 yd) |
| Surface | Grass |
| Scoreboard | Yes |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | 1916 |
| Opened | October 12, 1916 |
| Renovated | March 27, 1997 |
| Expanded | March 27, 1997 |
| Tenants | |
| Santos (Série A) (1916–present) | |
Estádio Urbano Caldeira, also known as Estádio Vila Belmiro, is an association football stadium located in the Vila Belmiro neighborhood of Santos, Brazil, and the home of Campeonato Brasileiro Série A club Santos Futebol Clube.
The ground was inaugurated on October 12, 1916 when Santos beat Clube Atlético Ypiranga 2–1, with Adolfo Millon Jr. scoring the first goal of the stadium. It was named in honor of Urbano Caldeira, former player, manager and chairman of Santos, in 1933. The ground, given the nickname Vila Belmiro due to its location within the Vila Belmiro neighborhood, has been Santos' permanent residence since 1916. However, the club sometimes uses the Pacaembu Stadium located in the city of São Paulo for important matches due to the low capacity of Vila Belmiro.
The ground underwent several expansions and renovations in the 1990s and 2000s (decade), most notably the renewal of the irrigation and drainage systems, flood-lighting and the replacement of the field. The stadium's current highest attendance was recorded in 1964, when 32,989 spectators watched the Campeonato Paulista match between Santos and Corinthians.
The Estádio Urbano Caldeira is located on the Princesa Isabel street, in the neighborhood of Vila Belmiro, occupying the block bounded by the streets of Tiradentes, Don Pedro I, and José de Alencar. The venue is 600 feet (182.88 meters) in between the avenues of Senator Pinheiro Machado and Dr. Bermadino de Campos.
...Santos currently can afford to proudly say that it maintains a sports center that rivals any one in the state (of São Paulo)...
Soon after its foundation, Santos held their training in a field located in the neighborhood of Macuco. As the field did not meet the minimum size standards to host official matches, Santos played on the "Igreja Coração de Maria" pitch in Ana Costa Avenue. The field, however, was also used by other clubs in town. In 1915, the situation reached its breaking point, when Santos had constant conflicts with other city clubs on when the field could be used, forcing the club to reject several requests for international friendlies. To solve the problem, the leaders began searching for land in the city, with a commission formed by Luiz Suplicy Júnior, Harold Cross, Sebastião Arantes Nogueira and Francisco Viriato Corrêa da Costa. On May 31, 1916, a general assembly approved the purchase of an area of 16,500 square meters, in the neighborhood of Vila Belmiro, approved by club president Agnello Cícero de Oliveira and vice-president Dr. Álvaro Ribeiro. The land acquired belonged to Companhia de Habitações Econômicas, and the field was bought from them at a price of Rs$66,660,000. The board members obtained a 10-year loan which was liquified in 1923 after paying Rs$35,000,000 in interest fees.
...
Wikipedia