Allianz Parque · Profile

Between 2010 and November 2014, the old Estádio Palestra Itália in western São Paulo was demolished and replaced by a multi-purpose arena that holds more than 43,000 spectators for football. Named Allianz Parque, the home of Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras cost 630 million reais. It was designed by architects Tomás Taveira and Edo Rocha and built by the developer WTorre, which also runs it. The ground stands in the Água Branca district, on land the club has owned since 1920. It officially opened on 19 November 2014.

The Parque Antarctica site

The site's football history is older than Palmeiras itself. In the late 19th century, Companhia Antarctica Paulista set up a leisure park there for its workers and began renting the pitch to local clubs. On 3 May 1902, Mackenzie beat Germânia 2-1 there in the opening match of the first Campeonato Paulista. In 1920, Palestra Itália, as Palmeiras was originally called, bought the grounds for 500 contos de réis. Concrete stands came later, and on 13 August 1933 the stadium reopened with a 6-0 win over Bangu in the Rio-São Paulo Tournament. The last competitive match at the old Palestra was a 4-2 win over Grêmio in the Brasileirão on 22 May 2010. The farewell game, a friendly on 9 July that year, ended in a 2-0 defeat to Boca Juniors.

Building the arena and choosing a name

The project was agreed with WTorre, which took charge of construction and of the venue's commercial operation for 30 years. Palmeiras kept all ticket revenue from football matches. The old stands came down in 2011. On 24 April 2013, a naming-rights deal with the German insurer Allianz was announced. It ran for 20 years with an option for ten more and was valued at around 300 million reais. The name Allianz Parque came from a public vote announced on 6 June 2013, which it won with 89% of more than 620,000 votes.

Opening and early years

Test events took place in September and October 2014. On 25 October, a tribute match for Ademir da Guia finished 3-3, and Ademir himself scored the arena's first goal from the penalty spot. On 19 November 2014, in front of 35,939 fans, Palmeiras lost 2-0 to Sport in Série A. Ananias scored the first official goal in the 76th minute. On 25 and 26 November, Paul McCartney played the stadium's first concerts. On 2 December 2015, Palmeiras won the 2015 Copa do Brasil there, beating Santos 2-1 and taking the shoot-out 4-3. The Brazil national team has played twice at the ground: a 2-0 friendly win over Mexico on 7 June 2015, and a 3-0 win over Chile on 10 October 2017 in qualifying for the 2018 World Cup.

Trophies won at home

On 27 November 2016, a 1-0 win over Chapecoense in front of 40,986 fans gave Palmeiras the 2016 Brazilian championship at its own ground. In October 2018, the arena hosted a Copa Libertadores semi-final against Boca Juniors, which ended 2-2. In August 2020, behind closed doors during the pandemic, the club won the Paulista final against Corinthians. In March 2021 it beat Grêmio 2-0 in the final of the 2020 Copa do Brasil. Between 2020 and 2021, the stadium also served as a Covid-19 vaccination centre. In March 2022 came the Recopa Sudamericana, won with a 2-0 victory over Athletico Paranaense. It was the first international title decided at the arena. That year Palmeiras also beat São Paulo 4-0 in the Paulista final on 3 April, then sealed the 2022 Brazilian title with a 4-0 win over Fortaleza on 2 November. The 2023 Paulista, against Água Santa, and the 2024 Paulista, against Santos, were also lifted there.

Pitch, concerts and crowds

The pitch was natural grass from 2014 to 2019 and was replaced with artificial turf in 2020. The arena was also built for live events. Roberto Carlos performed there on 18 April 2015, and in 2017 the trade publication Pollstar ranked it first in the world for concert attendance, with 17 shows and around 600,000 spectators. Over the years the attendance record for football rose to 41,468, set on 6 August 2025 in a 2-0 defeat to Corinthians. In April 2026, Allianz gave up the naming rights, which passed to the digital bank Nubank. After another fan vote, the stadium was renamed Nubank Parque on 4 May 2026.