Champions League stadium given total makeover with host of changes and new HYBRID pitch
Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
A CHAMPIONS League stadium has been given a fresh makeover, including the installation of a HYBRID pitch.
Sporting Lisbon have made the upgrades to the Estádio Jose Alvalade as part of an ambitious redevelopment.
Sign up for Scottish Sun
newsletter
Sign up
5
Sporting Lisbon have done away with their old pitch
Credit: https://www.instagram.com/sportingcp/
5
The turd was dug up with diggers
Credit: https://www.instagram.com/sportingcp/
5
It has been replaced by a new hybrid pitch
Credit: https://www.instagram.com/sportingcp/
Play Dream Team now!
Play The Sun Dream Team ahead of the 2025/26 season Free to play
Over £100,000 in total prize money
Play in Mini Leagues against your mates
Submit a team for Gameweek 1 to enter £5,000 prize draw
Play via Dream Team's app or website today!
As part of the work, a new hybrid pitch has been installed, which provides more than just a turf for matches to happen on.
The pitch is capable of harvesting rainwater and reusing it in order to irrigate itself.
This system is aligned with the Portuguese giants' environmental objectives.
A video has been released showing the process of changing the turf at the Estádio Jose Alvalade.
READ MORE ON FOOTBALL
'HE'S SICK OF HER' Andy Carroll DUMPS girlfriend after police quiz over boozy rows
The old turf was dug up with diggers and the new version was laid bit by bit across the pitch.
It comes a year after Sporting announced it would be transforming the club over the next decade.
This includes a strategic vision to build the club into a brand that is "unique, global and distinctive".
SUN VEGAS WELCOME OFFER: GET £50 BONUS WHEN YOU JOIN
The stadium has also had upgrades through the installation of service rings, which are concealed from view.
The stadium is also now more capable of hosting events other than football.
Arsenal make major change to Emirates stadium just days before new Premier League season
As well as the work on the playing area, more rows of seating have been installed.
This has increased the stadium's capacity by 2,000 seats to a total of 52,095.
However, it does not make it the biggest in Liga Portugal, which is the 68,100 Estádio da Luz of Benfica.
It has also filled in the 'moat' that surrounded the pitch in order to bring supporters closer to the action.
5
The Estadio Jose Alvalade regularly hosted Champions League matches
Credit: Reuters
5
The capacity is now 52,095
Credit: Getty
It is not the only Champions League stadium to be facing changes.
Arsenal have removed the tunnel cover at the Emirates Stadium ahead of the 2025/26 campaign.
Sporting have never won the Champions League in their history and have only gone as far as the quarter-finals.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Scottish Sun
37 minutes ago
- Scottish Sun
Yoane Wissa AXED from Brentford squad for Premier League opener amid Newcastle transfer interest
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) KEITH ANDREWS has axed wantaway Yoane Wissa from Brentford's clash at Nottingham Forest - but still hopes to keep the star. The DR Congo forward, 28, has his heart set on joining Newcastle after they had a £30m offer rejected. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 5 Wissa has made it clear he wants to move to Newcastle this summer Credit: AFP 5 The manager has said there is no point using a player whose mind is not here Credit: Getty 5 Keith Andrews has taken over from Thomas Frank this summer Credit: Sportsfile Play Dream Team now! Play The Sun Dream Team ahead of the 2025/26 season Free to play Over £100,000 in total prize money Play in Mini Leagues against your mates Submit a team for Gameweek 1 to enter £5,000 prize draw Play via Dream Team's app or website today! Wissa left the Bees' Portuguese pre-season camp after Toon's bid and threatened to never play for them again before talks with boss Andrews led to him returning to training. However, last season's 19-goal ace will play no part of their Prem opener and could miss the rest of the month until the window shuts or he gets his wish and heads to St. James'. Andrews, ahead of his first competitive game since replacing Thomas Frank, said: 'I have made a decision he is not [available]. "It has been a very disrupted pre-season - I think you're aware of that interest in Yoane. '[I'm] very clear on the situation. "As a head coach, I want Yoane in the building, to be a part of the first-team and the squad. "I see that moving forwards but I am very understanding of his situation. 'I have a very good relationship with him, and that will persist, but we have to focus on the players who are ready to play and perform on Sunday and I don't think Yoane's in that space. BEST ONLINE CASINOS - TOP SITES IN THE UK "For Yoane on Sunday, he won't be involved.' Brentford have lost Bryan Mbeumo to Manchester United, Christian Norgaard to Arsenal and keeper Mark Flekken to Bayer Leverkusen this summer but have brought in England midfielder Jordan Henderson, goalie Caoimhin Kelleher and Dutch attacking midfielder Antoni Milambo. Mbeumo completes Man Utd move But Andrews claims despite the upheaval, it is only the current Wissa problem that has caused him any headaches. He added: 'The only one who really disrupts an ideal preparation is the Yoane Wissa situation. Is it ideal? No, it's not. Would the players like him to be part of the squad? Of course they would.' 5 5 TRANSFER NEWS LIVE - KEEP UP WITH ALL THE LATEST FROM A BUSY SUMMER WINDOW
Rhyl Journal
37 minutes ago
- Rhyl Journal
Luis Enrique hails debutant goalkeeper Lucas Chevalier after PSG's Super Cup win
Italy keeper Donnarumma helped PSG to a maiden Champions League title last season, but eyebrows were raised when the French club signed Chevalier this summer in a big-money transfer. The cards of Luis Enrique were firmly laid on the table on Monday when Donnarumma was left out of their Super Cup squad for this fixture in his home country and, despite Chevalier being at fault for one of the goals in the 2-2 draw, the 23-year-old saved a penalty from Micky van de Ven to help inspire a 4-3 shoot-out win. Asked about Chevalier, Luis Enrique said: 'I must say I am very happy. WHAT A MATCH! 🥵🔥 — Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_English) August 14, 2025 'I am very happy with the way the game ended. It is very important for him and he showed exactly what he is made of, his character, his personality and things we ask here at PSG because we want him to get stuck in with the team. 'I am so happy with his performance, but also with the performance with regards to how he was helping the team. We are looking to get better, we are on the right track and I think we will be better this year. 'For a curtain-raiser, it was very difficult because everyone was talking about the situation, but Lucas showed personality, he showed good character and showed exactly why he is part of the Paris St Germain team.' It was nearly a different story after Chevalier allowed Cristian Romero's 48th-minute header to slip through his hands. 2025 #SuperCup 🏆 — UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) August 13, 2025 PSG were two down by this point after Micky van de Ven's tap-in six minutes before half-time, but they staged a stirring fightback with goals by substitutes Lee Kang-in and Goncalo Ramos to leave Tottenham crestfallen in Thomas Frank's first match in charge. 'We are always going and thinking we can win every single match, even when we are losing, but if I have to be honest, I have to say Tottenham deserve much more,' Luis Enrique acknowledged. 'They played better than us, they were playing better than us until the 81st minute. Football is sometimes unfair. In this case, I have to say I am very happy for that but maybe it was unfair.'
Rhyl Journal
an hour ago
- Rhyl Journal
Joao Palhinha predicts ‘something special' from Spurs despite Super Cup defeat
Spurs were minutes away from winning a second trophy in the space of three months after goals by Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero either side of half-time put them in control in Udine. PSG upped the ante in the second period and, after Lee Kang-in reduced the deficit with five minutes left, fellow substitute Goncalo Ramos forced spot-kicks with a header in the fourth minute of stoppage time after a 2-2 draw. Vitinha's miss coupled with successful kicks by Dominic Solanke and Rodrigo Bentancur put Thomas Frank's team two up in the shootout, but Van de Ven and Mathys Tel failed to score from the spot and the French side claimed further silverware with a 4-3 victory. Palhinha was eager to draw on the positives ahead of Tottenham being set to return to Champions League action next month for the first time in three seasons. 'It is football. At the end we are really sad. Not just the players but all the staff, all the crowd that came to support us during the game,' Palhinha said. 'I think we also need to feel proud for what we did until the 80 minutes. You know because we fought all the games with a top team and I think we showed what we are here to get in the future. 'We have all the conditions to achieve good things this season and I think the future will bring us something special. 'I think we have the hunger from all the players to achieve this title. Everyone gave all the maximum in this game and I think we showed what we are capable of. 'We played against a top team and I think we have everything, a top coach, top players in this squad, a top crowd with a lot of hunger to achieve titles and me and my team-mates will fight for it, for sure. 'A tough night, but I know that we will shape good things in the future. We just need to keep our head up.' This was Palhinha's competitive debut for Spurs after he joined on a season-long loan from Bayern Munich. Palhinha struggled during his debut campaign in Munich, but is excited to be back in the Premier League and London following two successful years at Fulham before Tottenham's opener at home to Burnley on Saturday. He said: 'In the Premier League you have also every single week top games. I think we cannot relax and the good thing now is we have another game on Saturday to change the (bad) things and start with the right foot in the Premier League. 'I enjoyed when I played in Fulham the two years that I was there. I really miss the Premier League. I think it's a league that everyone plays and when you play there and go to play outside somewhere else, you miss something. 'I'm really proud to be back again to the Premier League. I'm really happy to be in this top club and top team. I just need to enjoy it.' Proud. There's plenty more to come 🤍 — Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) August 13, 2025 Mohammed Kudus also made his debut for Tottenham and backed them to learn lessons from the defeat. 'We've shown that we can compete at the highest level, we have to take the positives and focus on the tasks we have ahead in the coming season,' Kudus insisted. 'This is a good step, of course a big disappointment but we have a lot more to play this season, a lot more competitions and we take this as a lesson and move forward.'
