Stadium in Brazil, Located on the Equator, Allows Teams to Switch Hemispheres During Halftime
The Unique Estadio Milton Corrêa: Football on the Equator
The Estadio Milton Corrêa, popularly known as Zerão, is a football stadium located in Macapá, Brazil, a city that can only be reached by boat or plane and has no roads connecting it to the rest of the country.
Built in 1990, the stadium was named after the Marco Zero neighborhood, famous for its proximity to the Equator. The nickname, Zerão, means Big Zero, referring to its location at zero latitude.
The stadium's defining characteristic is its unique position. The midfield line on the football pitch is said to lie exactly on the Equator. This means that during games, players can be standing in different hemispheres while playing, with one half in the Northern Hemisphere and the other in the Southern Hemisphere.
The stadium was closed in 2007 due to safety concerns but underwent renovation and reopened in 2014. On game days, the stadium is filled with fans of local teams like Trem and Santos-AP.
The Marco Zero neighborhood is home to a tall concrete monument that frames the sunrise during equinoxes, and a white line stretches across the plaza, symbolizing the Earth's belly button.
The city of Macapá and its unique stadium, Zerão, offer a fascinating blend of sports and geography, making it a must-visit destination for football enthusiasts and travellers alike.
- The unique location of the Estadio Milton Corrêa on the Earth's Equator intrigues scientists, who study the climate differences in both hemispheres during football matches played there.
- As the Marco Zero neighborhood showcases the Earth's belly button with a white line, one might wonder about the ecology and biodiversity of animals living in such a significant geographical location.
- In the realm of tech innovations, researchers are exploring the potential of using Zerão's unique climate divide as a real-life case study for studying the impact of global warming on sports fields.
- While football fans revel in the thrill of watching games at the extraordinary Zerão stadium, others can't help but question whether such a magnificent structure and its surrounding neighborhood should be conserved for posterity, meriting recognition as a world heritage site.
