Não?!?... Portuguese Soccer Near Collapse After $1 Billion Arena Spending: The 10 arenas built or refurbished for the 2004 European Championship have turned into white elephants. They are victims of no-shows, fans who can't afford to buy tickets because of the economy's demise, and increasing maintenance bills that are hurting teams who play on the fields.
Five teams folded this season and four-fifths of clubs are late with salary payments. Last weekend, the nine top-flight games attracted 80,000 fans to stadiums that hold a combined 278,000, according to national league statistics. [...]
The 18 division one teams in Portugal, including past European Cup winners Benfica and Porto, have 528,000 seats, or one for every 19 people, according to the national league. In Spain, home to Real Madrid and Barcelona, 20 top teams have 779,000 seats, or one for every 51 Spaniards, Spain's league said.
