Arena Das Dunas, Natal

The stadium will have capacity of 45,000 people. Estimated cost of the Arena alone: between R$ 300 and R$ 400 million. Below, an artistic night view of Arena das Dunas.

The current Natal stadium, called Machadão (State owned), will be demolished and the new arena will take its place.

The project comprehends also the building of new Administrative Centers for the city of Natal and the State of Rio Grande do Norte (currently, there are already several State administrative buildings in the area, which will also be demolished), a shopping center, a hotel, and several residential and commercial buildings. Below, a view of the complex.

Natal is one of the most environment conscious cities in Brazil. The entire project will follow environment friendly guidelines. The lagoon shown in the image below is a reconstruction of an old lagoon which used to exist in that neighbourhood (which, by the way, is called Lagoa Nova, or New Lagoon).

Dunes and lagoons are closely associated formations: the dunes filter the rain water, which migrate downwards until finding a more solid layer deeper in the soil; if there are a large number of dunes in a small area (as it happens in Natal), water will accumulate in the space between them, hence forming lagoons.