Arena Pantanal, Cuiabá

• Capacity - 42968
• Home arena for the Cuiabá and Mixto teams
• 2014 World Cup matches:
В. Chile - Australia 3:1
Н. Russia - South Korea 1:1
F. Nigeria - Bosnia and Herzegovina 1:0
С. Japan - Colombia 1:4

• Arena Pantanal, built where the Jose Frazhelli stadium once stood, is known as Verdun.
• The stadium was built from scratch specifically for the 2014 World Cup.
• The design permits the stadium's capacity to be lowered to 28,000. This makes sense, because the local teams rarely draw in 40,000 spectators.
• The only professional local club was created relatively recently and, as of 2014, is in Brazil's Third Division. The plans for the stadium include a huge center. A large complex will be built next to the arena with hotels, restaurants, park and lakes.
• The city authorities recognize that the stadium is unlikely ever to pay for itself. Nevertheless, they plan to hold agro exhibitions, shows, and concerts in the arena, the profits from which will go towards the upkeep of the stadium.
• Cuiabá is the capital of Mato Grosso, the third largest Brazilian state, and it's main cultural and tourist center. The population is over a million people.
• Because of the large number of parks, Cuiabá is known as the "green city." Pantanal is a unique buffer zone near the city where unusual plants flourish, along with rare birds, exotic butterflies and a huge variety of exotic animals.
• Only ecological materials were used in the construction of the stadium, and this is why the FIFA commission recognized Pantanal as the most environmentally friendly stadium in the 2014 World Cup.
• In 2016, the stadium will be used as a training arena for Olympic athletes.

Photo Cuiaba Arena by Brazilian Government is licensed under CC BY 3.0