Arena Joaquim Américo Guimarães is the home stadium of Club Athletico Paranaense. It is located in Curitiba, the state capital of Paraná, Brazil. Known as Arena da Baixada, the football stadium was the first in Brazil to sell its naming rights. It was known as Kyocera Arena between 2005 and 1 April 2008. It was the first retractable roof stadium built in South America. With Curitiba selected as one of the host cities of World Cup 2014, the arena was rebuilt between 2012 and 2014. Its capacity was expanded to 42,372 seats. Located in the Água Verde near the center of Curitiba, the history of the athletic stadium began in the early twentieth century, when in 1914, Joaquim Américo Guimarães, then president of the International, led the construction of the then Arena da Baixada stadium. Athletico came into existence ten years later, inheriting the assets, including the stadium.
History
The stadium was built at the previous location of a Brazilian Army powder depot. In 1934, the stadium was renamed Estádio Joaquim Américo Guimarães. In the 1970s, the original stadium was closed down. After being reopened in 1984 and operating for some years, the old stadium building was demolished on March 26, 1997, right after a construction project of a new arena was announced. In June 1999, the new stadium was built. In 2005, the stadium was renamed Kyocera Arena, after the Japanese company Kyocera purchased the naming rights. The inaugural match of the old stadium was played on 6 September 1914, when Flamengo beat Internacional 7-1. The first goal of the stadium was scored by Flamengo's Arnaldo. The inaugural match of the new building was played on 24 June 1999, when Athletico Paranaense beat Cerro Porteño of Paraguay 2-1. The first goal of the stadium after its reinauguration was scored by Athletico's Lucas. The stadium's attendance record currently stands at 40.263, set on 12 December 2018 when Athletico defeated Junior Barranquillaon penalties, for the 2018 Sudamericana championship. Although the stadium was not the venue of the 1950 FIFA World Cup, the Estádio Vila Capanema was the venue for Curitiba as a host city of the event. The contract with Kyocera that gave the company naming rights expired in early 2008. It was not renewed, and no new partnership was announced. The stadium went back to its old name, Arena da Baixada.
Ever since renovation works were completed in June 1999, the historic Estádio Joaquim Américo has been considered by many experts and journalists as one of Brazil’s most modern and best-appointed stadiums. It came as no surprise, therefore, that the home ground of Athletico Paranaense, which was originally constructed back in 1914, was among those venues chosen to host games at the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Prior to welcoming the global showpiece, however, the stadium underwent another set of renovation works completed in 2014. Among other development are a series of improvements in facilities and the addition of rows of extra seats parallel to the pitch. This resulted in an increased capacity of 40,000, which made it possible for the stadium to welcome four World Cup matches. Construction of the stadium was not without its share of difficulties. Building work at the stadium was suspended in October 2013 on the orders of a Brazilian labor tribunal due to numerous and serious safety breaches. “Countless infractions have been committed, in various stages of the building project,” wrote the judge Lorena Colnago in her decision, the Paraná Regional Labor Tribunal said in a statement. Subsequently, the planned retractable roof for the stadium was canceled. In late 2014, construction of the planned retractable roof resumed. With the completion of the project in 2015, Arena da Baixada became the first stadium in South America with a retractable roof. The first match to be held during the world cup was played between Iran and Nigeria, on June 16, ending with no goals.
The event was the first that the promotion hosted in Curitiba. It was the fourth stadium venue to host a UFC event and drew 45,207 fans, then the third largest crowd in the promotion's history. Two Curitiba natives, Cris Cyborg and Shogun Rua, appeared on the card with both winning their fights.
