Ginásio do Maracanãzinho

History

The Maracanãzinho was built in just five months, starting on April 13, 1954, by Construtora Prolar S.A. Its architects were Rafael Galvão, Pedro Paulo Bernardes Bastos, Orlando Azevedo, and Antônio Dias Carneiro, with Joaquim Cardoso as the engineer. The gym opened on September 24, 1954, for the Men's Basketball World Championship, seating 25,000 people. It later hosted the same tournament in 1963, where Brazil, coached by Kanela, won its second straight gold medal.

During the 1950s and 1960s, the venue also held the Miss Guanabara and Miss Brasil pageants, plus the 1960 and 1990 Men's Volleyball World Championship finals. In 1981, singer Simone Bittencourt de Oliveira, then 32, became the first woman to pack the arena. The 2013 World Judo Championships took place there, as did UFC 179 in 2014 and UFC Fight Night: Maia vs. LaFlare in 2015. Volleyball for the 2016 Summer Olympics was also played at Maracanãzinho.

In 2013, WWE.com jokingly claimed the gym hosted the 1979 Intercontinental Championship tournament as an April Fools' prank.

Renovations

For the 2007 Pan American Games, the gym was remodeled with new central air conditioning, a four-sided scoreboard, a new sound system, a dome allowing natural lighting, new seating, and adaptations to international requirements. After renovations, the capacity was reduced from approximately 13,000 to 11,800 spectators for futsal, and the field of vision was increased for better viewing.