Restaurants, bars and museums in Lisbon · Page 224

MEO Arena

Parque das Nações · Concert Halls & Music Venues

MEO Arena is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the Parque das Nações district of Lisbon, at Rossio dos Olivais 2.13.01, 1990-231 Lisboa. It is presented as the largest indoor arena in Portugal and as one of the largest in the European Union. Its capacity is 20,100 for concerts and 15,000 for futsal. The arena grew out of the Expo '98 Master Plan. At the time, Lisbon had no versatile hall able to take big concerts, congresses and sporting events. Existing buildings in the city and the country held up to 4,000 people or were hard to adapt to unconventional events, and they lacked the technical infrastructure needed for modern concerts, musicals and proper live TV coverage. The country needed something between smaller halls such as the Lisbon Coliseum and open-air stadia. Construction ran from 1996 to 1998, the doors opened in 1998, and the cost was €55 million. Portuguese architect Regino Cruz designed the building in association with Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, the studio that also co-designed the Vasco da Gama Tower at the northern end of Parque das Nações. The shape recalls a flying saucer, a sea turtle's shell or a horseshoe crab. The roof rests on a wooden grid shaped like a carrack, the sailing ship linked to the Age of Discoveries, when Portuguese ships crossed the oceans to Brazil, Africa, India, Macau and Japan. Ecologically friendly features maximise light in winter and shade in summer. The venue has carried several names: Pavilhão da Utopia in 1998, Pavilhão Atlântico from 1998 to 2013, MEO Arena from 2013 to 2017 and Altice Arena from 2017 to 2024. It was sold to Arena Atlântico S.A. for €21.2 million in July 2012. Portugal Telecom took the naming rights in May 2013, Altice renamed it in October 2017 after acquiring Portugal Telecom, and in February 2024 the MEO Arena name returned. Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. is listed as owner and operator. Besides concerts by artists such as Coldplay, Madonna and Lady Gaga, the arena hosts athletics, basketball, fencing, futsal and handball, along with conferences. It staged the final of the FIBA U-19 World Championship, where Spain beat USA, and the 2005 MTV Europe Music Awards. Portugal's first WWE event took place here on 4 December 2006. Gare do Oriente, on the red line, is a 300-metre walk away, and the airport is about 10 minutes off. Arriving 30–45 minutes early helps with security queues.

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