Arena Coliseu Mateus Aquino

Arena Coliseu Mateus Aquino (Mateus Aquino Colosseum Arena), also known as Coliseu do Sertão, is a Brazilian football stadium located at the entrance to the urban area of Alto Santo, a municipality in Ceará located in the Baixo Jaguaribe micro-region, 243 kilometers from Fortaleza. It gained national and even international fame[1] for its peculiar structure and the controversy about the construction.[2][3][4][5]

Arena Coliseu
"Coliseu do Sertão"
Full nameArena Coliseu Mateus Aquino
LocationAlto Santo, Ceará, Brazil
Coordinates5°30′51″S 38°15′57″W
OwnerMunicipality of Alto Santo
OperatorMunicipality of Alto Santo
Capacity5,000
Field size105 x 68 m
SurfaceGrass
Construction
Broke ground2009
Built2009–2015
OpenedAugust 9, 2015
Construction costBRL 1.3 million
Tenants
Alto Santo Esporte Clube

Construction

Inspired by the Roman Colosseum, construction began in 2009 and cost around BRL 1.3 million, with BRL 827,500 being granted by the Ministry of Sports. It was planned to hold 20,000 people, but finished with just 5,000.[2][3][5]

Opening

The first official match at the Coliseu was in August 9 between Alto Santo Esporte Clube and União de Brejo Santo, for the debut of the 2015 Campeonato Cearense Série C. The audience was only 900 people despite the low ticket price by BRL 5. The hosts won 1–0 with a goal by Valdison at 65'.[2][3][5]

Controversy

Despite the region's semi-arid climate and the long drought at the time,[1] a dam was filled in for the construction of the stadium.[lower-alpha 1] The lawn was the first part completed, staying six years unused, generating expenses with irrigation, fertilization and pruning.[4]

At the beginning of the works, the city's football club was inactive because of debts,[4] which raised more doubts about the need for the venue. So the local authorities reactivated the Alto Santo Esporte Clube in the year of opening.[5]

In the project, the stadium should hold 20 thousand spectators, a number greater than the population of the municipality (16 thousand at the time).[4] However, it was completed with only 5 thousand capacity. But the municipal government promised to complete the other 15,000, which will result in more unnecessary expenses.[3][5]

Notes
  1. Coincidentally, the original Colosseum in Rome was also built over a water source.

References
  1. "O Sertão vai virar Roma?". Diário do Nordeste (in Portuguese). 10 August 2015. Archived from the original on 13 August 2015. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  2. "Após seis anos de obras, 'Coliseu do Sertão' é inaugurado no Ceará". Folha de S.Paulo (in Portuguese). 10 August 2015. Archived from the original on 11 August 2016. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  3. "Antes para 20 mil, Coliseu cearense estreia, após 6 anos, para 900 pessoas". Globo Esporte (in Portuguese). 10 August 2015. Archived from the original on 13 December 2017. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  4. "Obra do Coliseu cearense se arrasta há cinco anos em cidade sem futebol". Globo Esporte (in Portuguese). 24 July 2014. Archived from the original on 11 May 2017. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  5. "Estádio de R$ 1,3 milhão, 'Coliseu do Sertão' é inaugurado no interior do CE". G1: Bom Dia Brasil (in Portuguese). 10 August 2015. Archived from the original on 6 July 2020. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
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