Estádio Fonte Nova

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The Estádio Fonte Nova, also known as Estádio Octávio Mangabeira is a football stadium inaugurated on January 28, 1951 in Salvador, Bahia, with a maximum capacity of 66,080 people. The stadium is owned by the Bahia government, and is the home ground of Esporte Clube Bahia. Its formal name honors Octávio Cavalcanti Mangabeira, a civil engineer, journalist, and former Bahia state governor from 1947 to 1954.

The stadium is nicknamed Fonte Nova because it is located at Ladeira das Fontes das Pedras.

[edit] History

The stadium construction ended in 1951. On March 4, 1971, the stadium was reinaugurated, after a great reformation, which expanded the maximum stadium capacity from 35,000 to 110,000. In the reinauguration day, two matches were played: Bahia against Flamengo, and Vitória against Grêmio. On that day happened a big tumult, where two people died.

The inaugural match was played on January 28, 1951, when Guarany and Botafogo, both local Bahia state teams, drew 2-1. The first goal of the stadium was scored by Guarany's Nélson.

The stadium's attendance record currently stands at 110,438, set on February 12, 1989 when Bahia beat Fluminense 2-1.