Estádio São Januário

Long before it settled into being just a football ground, São Januário doubled as a stage for national politics. In 1940 Getúlio Vargas stood here to announce Brazil's minimum wage, and returned the following year to proclaim the creation of the country's labour courts; in 1945 the terraces held a rally for Luís Carlos Prestes. Few grounds in Rio carry that kind of political weight alongside their football history.

The stadium's largest crowd never made the official books, because most of the people inside hadn't paid. On 25 May 1949, an estimated 60,000 packed in to watch Vasco beat Arsenal of London 1-0 in a friendly — a figure well above the 40,209 who bought tickets for a league match against Londrina in 1978, which stands as the highest attendance by paid admission.

Not every big crowd here ended well. On 30 December 2000, fencing gave way during a crush at the Copa João Havelange final against São Caetano, injuring dozens; the result was later annulled.

What stands today is only half-covered — roofs over the side stands and the Tribuna de Honra, open sky above the ends — and that is meant to change. City hall approved the Novo São Januário plan in November 2023, which would rebuild the ground almost entirely behind its preserved historic façade, cover every stand, and push capacity toward the mid-40,000s, though work isn't due to start before 2026. In the meantime, smaller changes are already under way: in November 2025 Greenleaf and Itograss began laying a new Celebration Bermuda pitch, replacing the grass Vasco have played on for years.