Brazil's new World Cup stadiums

Brazil's World Cup stadiums have undergone an overhaul ahead of the World Cup. The first match of the tournament is in Sao Paulo, Brazil's biggest city. The stadium known as "Itaquerao" is named after a nearby working class suburb, Itaquera. There have been two accidents at the building site and three fatalities since construction began. Building costs: 310 million euros. Seating capacity: 65,807.

The citizens of Natal have a nasty feeling of déjá-vu with the Dunes Arena. In 1991, five million euros were spent on a reception area for the visit of Pope John Paul II. The cultural center that it was meant to be turned into afterwards, never eventuated. A stadium like the Dunes Arena is unnecessary many say. Construction costs: 113 million euros. Seating capacity: 42,086.

The first match in the Arena Fonte Nova on 13 June is Spain taking on the Netherlands. Three days later Germany will play Portugal here aswell. Local team EC Bahia plays in the first division and often in South American competitions as well. Construction costs. 230 million euros. Capacity: 48,747.

This stadium should have good viewer numbers long term. The 2.5 million metropolis of Fortaleza has two old football clubs. Neither team is particularly successful, but both clubs have many fans. Germany will play its second group stage game here, against Ghana. Renovation costs: 180 million euros. Capacity: 64,846.

Cuiaba is the smallest World Cup host city, with less than half a million residents. It is located in the middle of the low-lying region of Pantanal, which also gives the stadium its name. No top club plays in Cuiaba, but the stadium should be used as training facilities for football teams during the Olympics in 2016. Construction costs: 190 million euros. Capacity: 42,968.

The stadium in Recife is named after the state in which it is located, Pernambuco. The arena is some 22 kilometers outside of the Recife city center. For 2000 families it wasn't remote enough though: they had to move out of their homes in order to make space for the new stadium. Estimated costs: 250 million euros, Capacity: 42,849.

In the group game between England versus Italy on 15 June, Arena da Amazonia is set to play host to a classic encounter. That may be the only top game here for a while, since no team from Manaus plays in the national league. The stadium has already copped negative headlines after four deaths on the building site. Construction costs: 200 million euros. Capacity: 42,374.

For almost five decades both teams from Belo Horizonte, Atletico and Cruzeiro, have played their derby matches in Mineirao. For safety reasons, sections of the stadium have remained empty during the last few months during the considerable renovations. Renovation costs: 225 million euros. Capacity: 62,547.

The most expensive World Cup stadium is the Estadio Nacional in Brasilia. It's a prestige object but nothing more than that. After all, Brasilia is quite isolated and lacking a top class team. The two Brasilia teams Gama and Brasiliense play in the fourth division at the moment. Construction costs: 630 million euros, Capacity: 68,009.

The Arena da Baixada in Curitiba almost missed out completely on hosting any World Cup games. Construction stopped mid-way through, due to financing problems. At the start of the year, FIFA got active though and renovations re-started. In the end, the smallest stadium tournament is now finished. Renovation costs: 110 million euros. Capacity: 41,456.

Porto Alegre could have probably gone without any World Cup renovations. After all, the famous club Gremio already built a new stadium in the city in 2012. But, those responsible decided to pick the ground of cross-city rivals Internacional, the Estadio Beira-Rio, as the official World Cup stadium. Renovaton costs: 110 million euros. Capacity: 48,849.

This is how many Brazilians remember their old "Maracana". Up until the 1990s, Maracana served the dual role of football stadium and meeting point for Rio de Janeiro's different social classes. Ten years and 300 million euros later, and the cheap seats are now gone. Nowadays, the stadium is for many a symbol of the overspending of public money.

There were 170,000 fans in the Maracana stadium to watch the 1950 World Cup final. This time around it will be less than half of that. But, it's still the biggest stadium in the tournament, and definitely a great asset for the four Rio-based club teams. Renovation costs: 400 million euros. Capacity: 73,531.