World Cup stadium built with Cemex cement

Cemex participated in the construction of the Arena da Amazonia soccer stadium that has hosted several competitive opening round matches of the 2014 FIFA World Cup including England vs Italy, USA vs Portugal, and Honduras vs Switzerland in the northern city of Manaus, Brazil.

Designed by the internationally recognized architectural firm of Von Gerkan, Marg and Partners (GMP), the new 170,000m2 stadium (pictured right) has the capacity for more than 43,000 spectators and is one of the 12 stadiums built to accommodate the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Cemex worked in close collaboration with renowned construction company Andrade Gutierrez SA providing 28,000t of its specialty high-quality cement.

“Cemex is proud to provide its customers with high-quality building materials and best-in-class customer service for beautiful and innovative large-scale projects around the world. With people from more than 200 countries watching, we welcomed the opportunity to help Manaus, the greatest city in the Amazon, to successfully present the 2014 FIFA World Cup to millions of fans worldwide,” said Fernando A Gonzalez, Cemex's chief executive officer.

Oval shaped, the stadium resembles an indigenous woven basket: its upper level has see-through panels crisscrossed with beams in a woven pattern. The seats are painted in the colors of Amazon fruit—papaya, banana, mango, and pineapple.