After Six Years of Work, the 'Backland's Coliseum' Is Opened in Ceará

08/11/2015 - 09h14

Built at a cost of around R$ 1.3 million (approximately U$ 377,600) in Ceará backlands, a soccer stadium with a facade inspired by the Roman Colosseum was inaugurated on Sunday (9), after six years of work.

Despite the cost, funded by the federal government and the Municipality of Alto Santo (230 km away from the state capital, Fortaleza), the arena has a quarter of the capacity expected at the beginning of the project: it holds 5,000 people.

Even so, in the opening match, with a ticket price of R$ 5 (approximately U$ 1.45), only 900 people attended.

The city hall plan was that the public could reach 20,000 people, more than the city´s population, of 16,000 inhabitants -the justification was the objective of "increasing the local tourism potential".

For the match, the club that bears the city´s name was renovated and arrived on the pitch for the Series C of the Cearense Championship against União de Brejo Santo. The home team won 1-0.

The report could not locate a representative of the city hall for comments on the opening.

The coliseum was built with transfers of R$ 619,000 (approximately U$ 179,800) from the Ministry of Sports, through parliamentary amendments -when a deputy recommends the work and the government releases the funding.

During the construction, the ministry reported that the amendments had already come defined by the Congress and that the project was accepted by technicians.

Even with the lack of regular rainfall in the interior of Ceará, the lawn of the stadium is constantly irrigated since before its opening.

Translated by DENISE MOTA

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