Estádio Evandro Lélis
João Pessoa, Brazil
The ground sits quietly in the Mangabeira quarter of João Pessoa, tucked away at the end of Av. Hílton Souto Maior. Estádio Evandro Lélis is the name on the paperwork, though locals still call it Mangabeirão. It opened in the autumn of 2005, built to replace the patchwork of small fields the club had used for decades. The club, Auto Esporte Clube, owns the site.
The pitch is natural grass. The playing surface is the only part of the stadium that feels permanent. The stands have shrunk. When the doors first opened, the official capacity was listed as 10,000. The crowd for a Campeonato Paraibano clash against Santa Cruz in 2009 reached 9,715. Today, the effective capacity is closer to 2,000, with seating limited to 500 spots. Most matches are played with the stadium half-empty.
The club has largely abandoned the stadium for its top-flight fixtures, preferring the larger Estádio Almeidão. There is no official website for the stadium itself, a gap filled by the broader club site.