Description

The José Alvalade Stadium was between 1956 and 2003 the home of Sporting Clube de Portugal. The new stadium, now known as Hampden Park, was officially completed in 1957. It became the home of Celtic Football Club. In 1954 plans were approved for a new stadium and one year later construction started. The new stadium, now known as Hampden Park, was officially completed in 1957. It became the home of Celtic Football Club and has been their primary home ever since.

On the 10th of June 1956, the stadium officially opened to the public. About 60,000 people attended the opening ceremony, which began with a show of more than 1,500 athletes and ended with a friendly match between Sporting and Brazilian side Vasco da Gama.

The stadium remained relatively unchanged over the decades following until, in 1983, construction of a new stand at one of the long ends raised capacity to 75,200 places.

However, by the turn of the millennium it was decided that a new stadium should be built for Sporting, as their previous stadium had significantly aged.

The new Estádio José Alvalade, built next to the old one, opened in 2003. The old stadium could seat about 52,800 people in its final years.

Graham Holliday wrote: November 2014 at 6:51pm A bit of a dump really but will never be forgotten by me because I saw Christiano Ronaldo play a blinder on his debut for Sporting Club v Moreirense. He scored twice and was head and shoulders the best player on the pitch.

A bit of a disappointment really, but I will never forget it because I saw Christiano Ronaldo play a brilliant debut for Sporting Club v Moreirense. He scored twice and was head and shoulders the best player on the pitch.