The influence of stadium renovations on the ambiance perceived by soccer audiences: the case of the Maracanã stadium in Rio de Janeiro

Abstract

Carrying a triple economic, social, and political dimension, the ambiance of a football stadium is an essential intangible asset as a cultural heritage. It is a subject of conflicts of use between organizations in the sports-spectacle sector and supporters. This article aims to analyze the impact of the renovations carried out in Maracanã Stadium, which took place from 1999 to 2014, on the ambiance experienced by cariocas clubs’ public. An ethno-topographic study was conducted, involving participant observation of 15 matches and 26 individual active non-directive interviews with spectators, to design a mnemonic archive of Maracanã. Through exploring the memories of the public, this research reveals five categories of metaphors that hold significance in describing the ambiance experienced and perceived before and after the renovations. These renovations, not only alter the ambiance of the stadium but are universally experienced as an urban trauma, compromising the re-appropriation of this public space by its users.

Porteuse d’une triple dimension économique, sociale et politique l’ambiance d’un stade football est un actif immatériel essentiel autant qu’un patrimoine culturel. C’est un objet de conflits d’usages entre organisations du secteur du sport-spectacle et supporters. Cet article vise à analyser l’impact des rénovations du stade Maracanã, opérées de 1999 à 2014, sur son ambiance perçue par les publics de clubs cariocas. Une étude ethno-topographique, élaborée par l’observation participante de 15 matchs et la réalisation de 26 entretiens individuels non-directifs auprès de spectateurs, a permis de constituer une archive mnémonique du Maracanã. Ce recours à la mémoire du pulilc révèle cinq catégories de métaphores significatives des ambiances vécues et perçues avant et après les rénovations. Ces dernières, conçues sans les publics, voire contre certains d’entre eux, transforment l’ambiance du stade et sont unanimement vécues comme un trauma urbain compromettant la réappropriation de cet espace public par ses usagers.

Keywords:

• Ambiance
• football
• memory
• Maracanã Stadium
• public
• re-appropriation
• renovation
• Rio de Janeiro

Mots-clés:

• ambiance
• football
• mémoire
• Stade Maracanã
• publics
• réappropriation
• rénovation
• Rio de Janeiro

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. Created in 2010, the Rio Popular Committee (CPR) includes social organizations, popular movements, trade unions, organizations for the defense of rights and control of the public budget, and universities. It is fighting all forms of inequality and the mass eviction of residents to host the 2014 Football World Cup and the 2016 Summer Olympics. Regarding the controversial Maracanã renovations, the CPR denounces human rights violations in Rio de Janeiro and encourages the population to participate in urban governance.

2. Director, screenwriter, and producer born in Rio de Janeiro. As a child, he attended the Maracanã to support Botafogo, the resident club until 2007.

3. Carlos Alberto’s departure from América-RJ to play for Fluminense angered fans. On May 13, 1914, the anniversary of the abolition of slavery in Brazil and the player’s first match for Fluminense – the only black player on the team – America-RJ fans hurled rice powder, used as a pale white foundation, at him in insult. Since then, the rice powder has become a symbol of Fluminense and its anti-racist struggle.