Pavilhão da Luz

The red arches that sweep over the Estádio da Luz extend down to the sports complex, where the Pavilhão da Luz stands a little apart from the main football arena. It is a building made for indoor sport, and the name on it has changed over the years. The old indoor hall closed down in 2003 when the new one opened.

The capacity is smaller than the football ground. It is the home for the basketball, handball, futsal and roller hockey teams, so the floor inside is not grass but a synthetic surface. The stands are packed tight around the playing area.

You walk past the main entrance to the football ground to find it, which keeps it separate from the match-day routine of the first team. The name that appears on the banners is not the one that was used when it first opened; this is a complex of venues, and the sponsors have swapped around. There is no attendance record for the basketball here that compares to the football matches, nor are there famous concerts held inside. It is a place for the other sports, built at the same time as the football ground, and it shares the same red and white colours but in a much smaller room.