Benfica District: President Rui Costa's speech

SPEECH

Rui Costa, President of Sport Lisboa e Benfica, presented the Benfica District, on Tuesday, July 22, at the Estádio da Luz.

"Today is an important day for Sport Lisboa e Benfica, for the city of Lisbon, for the country and for the Benfica universe, for members and fans and for all lovers of great sporting, cultural and commercial experiences in Portugal and around the world. It's a Benfica-style project. We've been working to propose and carry out a project to transform the Club's main territory, in line with the improvements we've made to the Stadium, but with renewed ambition," said the President at the beginning of his speech.

"I'd like to remind you how much we've done in these four years. We've implemented digital lines in the three rings of the stadium, two new giant screens inside and another at Gate 18, a new sound system and new lighting. In addition, we've increased the stadium's capacity, which is already underway, to 70,000 people," said Rui Costa.

"But now it's the beginning. The beginning of the creation of a whole new centrality, a Benfica District, in line with the size of our great Club. And because we talked about capacity, let me start here. The club is already working on a solution as part of this project, with the aim of increasing the capacity of the stadium to 80,000 people, in order to meet the huge demand for Red Passes from our members. We will therefore continue to improve the experience inside the stadium, but we will transform its exterior, projecting it towards modernity and renewed leadership.

This is a project that fulfills a long-held desire: the entire façade of the stadium will be covered with LEDs, making the outside as beautiful and extraordinary as the inside," he highlighted.

"It's also a project that includes a multipurpose pavilion with capacity for 10,000 people, two state-of-the-art indoor sports pavilions with capacity for 2,500 and 1,500 seats, adaptable for futsal, basketball, volleyball, handball and roller field hockey, among other sports, and a new community swimming pool. But it goes further: it will have an outdoor football pitch on the terrace, a running and leisure track, a new theater that can host other events, with a capacity for 500 people and commercial, hotel and residential facilities, which are important guarantees for the viability and sustainability of this initiative," said the President.

"This is a project that has been studied and worked on to be sustainable, to strengthen assets, to host major international events, without any impact on our ability to invest in the sporting dimension, in our sports, in men's and women's, at the various levels, with the winning ambition that we want. We worked on the project with the best, Populous and Saraiva e Associados, because we want the best sporting, cultural and commercial experience in our area. We want a space that is a reference in the city, the country and the world, just like our Club. This is also the purpose of a new square for members and fans to socialize before and after matches, which will include a statue of our Enormous Eusébio, but also a new sculpture that will pay due homage and tribute to our European champions,", praised Rui Costa.

"This will be a distinctive space, with a soul, like our Casas do Benfica, essential stages for the club's affirmation in Portugal and around the world and a source of enormous pride. The Benfica District is for members and fans, for those who are staying or visiting us, and for anyone who wants to feel and experience the Benfica soul 365 days a year. The project we're presenting is a dream on the verge of becoming a reality, but it's open to members and fans to contribute to improving it, with ideas and suggestions to make it even more glorious," he said.

"I urge everyone to take part. Whether it's on the project's website, which we've now launched and in which we've made a point of including a space for this purpose. Or by getting to know the whole project in detail in the room where we will be exhibiting various materials from tomorrow [July 23]. We want it to be as participatory as possible. Once this process is over, we'll call a General Assembly for the members to give their opinion," said the President.

"This is also a response to the challenges and needs of the indoor sports and athletes. However, it is a response that does not replace another project that will complement it: the so-called Cidade Benfica. In these three and a half years, there have been many meetings, many contacts with public and private entities, in an attempt to define a piece of land, close to the Estádio da Luz, on which it will be possible to materialize this dream. The dream of bringing together, in the same place, football pitches for our youth teams, pavilions for all sports, athletics tracks, swimming pools and an academy and playing field for our rugby," said Rui Costa.

"It wasn't a quick process, because as you can easily see, finding a central, nearby site of the necessary size isn't something that can be solved with the snap of a finger, as we are sometimes led to believe. We'll also have good news to present to our members and fans very soon about this, about Cidade Benfica," he claimed.

"But let's get back to Benfica District. This is an impulse that makes us unique, stronger and more sustainable. It's a project that will leave a positive mark of transformation, innovation and leadership, good for the club, for Lisbon and for the country.  It's a contribution to improving the range of sports and cultural facilities in Lisbon, strengthening us all in Europe and the world. And in this sense, our mission and goal is to complete it in time for the 2029 European Women's Championship and the 2030 World Cup," emphasized the President.

"I'll end as I began: this is a Benfica project. Positive. Leading. Glorious. With vision. With direction. Strategy and commitment to the future. For the same passion that unites us all. Eternal love for our Club. For the immense flame. Long live Sport Lisboa e Benfica!" said Rui Costa.