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The stadium is known by a number of names. The nickname Engenhão ([ẽʒeˈɲɐ̃w]) refers to the location of the stadium. The stadium was named after former
FIFA president and
International Olympic Committee (IOC) member
João Havelange (1916–2016). Havelange died after an attack of pneumonia during the 2016 Olympics at age 100. Between 2015 and 2017 the Rio municipality allowed Botafogo to refer to the stadium as Estádio Nilton Santos (English: Nilton Santos Stadium). The name honors
Nílton Santos, whom spent his whole career with Botafogo and is regarded as one of the greatest defenders in the history of the game and a member of the World Team of the 20th Century. Botafogo made initial efforts to have the name change official but this was not immediately successful.[7] In February 2017, the city of Rio de Janeiro officially renamed the stadium Estádio Olímpico Nilton Santos.[8] Structural problems in the roof were identified in March 2013 that caused the stadium to be closed for repair. The stadium's capacity was increased to 60,000 for the Games.[9]
History
Construction and opening
The stadium cost R$380 million (US$192 million)[10] to build, which was six times the stadium's original construction budget of R$60,000,000[2] The Mayor's office estimated in 2003 that the total construction cost would be of R$60 million (US$30 million);[11][12] the actual cost was thus 533% higher than early estimates.[13]
The stadium opened on 30 June 2007. The first match held was a
Campeonato Brasileiro Série A game between
Botafogo and
Fluminense. 40,000 tickets were available for the match and were exchanged for donations of
powdered milk.[14] In all, 43,810 people were at the stadium to watch the inaugurating match, where Botafogo beat Fluminense 2–1. The first goal of the match was scored by Fluminense's
Alex Dias. As Dias scored the first goal in the stadium's history, he was awarded the Valdir Pereira Trophy (Taça Valdir Pereira), which was named after retired footballer
Didi. Because Botafogo won the stadium's inaugural match, the club was awarded the João Havelange Trophy (Taça João Havelange).[15]
Pan American Games, Botafogo, and the Olympics
During the course of the
2007 Pan American Games held in Rio de Janeiro in July, the stadium hosted
athletics competitions, in addition to twelve games of the first stage of the
men's and
women's football tournaments.[18] After the conclusion of the games, on 3 August 2007,
Botafogo de Futebol e Regatas signed a deal with the City of Rio de Janeiro to lease the stadium for 20 years.[19] Botafogo was the only organization to present a bid; the club agreed to pay $18.200 (or R$36.000) a month to lease Engenhão, plus maintenance costs which run at $2 million (or R$4 million) annually.[2] On 11 August 2007, a 15-meter long and 6-meter high stadium wall collapsed, but nobody was hurt.[20] On 10 September 2008, the
Brazilian national team played for the first time at the Engenhão.[21] The match, against
Bolivia, for
2010 World Cup Qualification, ended 0–0.[22]
The stadium remains owned by the City of Rio de Janeiro, but it has been leased to
Botafogo until at least 2027 (20 years).[19] The Engenhão was the main venue for top football competitions in Rio de Janeiro while the
Maracanã Stadium was being renovated in preparation for both the
2014 FIFA World Cup and
2016 Summer Olympics.
Flamengo and
Fluminense played their home matches at the Engenhão from the 2010–11 through 2012–13 seasons. The stadium was closed indefinitely in March 2013 after it was found the structural integrity of the roof was not up to standard, and could potentially place spectators at risk.[23] It was announced on 8 June 2013, that the stadium would need a minimum of 18 months of reconstruction work and remain closed until 2015 while the repairs were carried out to the roof.[24]
^Leister Filho, Adalberto; Grijó, Fabio; Rangel, Sérgio (1 July 2007).
"Abertura do Engenhão ressuscita tradições"(PDF). Folha de S.Paulo (in Portuguese). Archived from
the original(PDF) on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 1 July 2015 – via Centro de Memória Inezil Penna Marinho.