Arena Pantaloneta, Football stadium in Cuiabá, Brazil
Arena Pantanal is a four-sided stadium in Cuiabá with an open rectangular roof over each stand and a green pitch at its centre. The long sides have flat, pale sloping roofs on grey concrete columns, with blue seats in the lower blocks. The short ends are wrapped in brown, horizontally ribbed cladding, and a white line of text runs along the cladding on the right-hand side.
Built on the site of the demolished Estádio Verdão, Arena Pantanal opened on 2 April 2014 with a 0–0 draw between Mixto and Santos, though 5,000 seats were still being installed. It hosted four 2014 FIFA World Cup group-stage matches and five group-stage games of the 2021 Copa América, played without spectators. In 2018 the Série C final between Cuiabá and Operário Ferroviário drew its record crowd of 41,311.
Cuiabá Esporte Clube has played its home matches here since 2015, and the stadium's record crowd of 41,311 came at the 2018 Série C final against Operário Ferroviário. The name Pantanal refers to the wetland region of Mato Grosso, echoed in the green areas and lakes of the surrounding complex.
The stadium stands in the Verdão neighbourhood, on the site of the demolished Estádio Verdão, next to the Ginásio Aecim Tocantins. Access to the lower and upper stands runs through 11 gates and 79 electronic turnstiles with ticket readers. The complex has parking for 2,831 vehicles and includes restaurants, hotels, lakes, a wooded area and a walking track.
The brown ribbed cladding on the two end stands is a detail few notice: the project by GCP Arquitetos prioritised ventilation because Cuiabá summers reach around 40 °C. The stadium was built with precast panels, allowing capacity to be reduced from 42,968 to 20,000.
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