Pavilhão João Rocha is a multi-sports pavilion located in Lisbon, next to the Estádio José Alvalade and it is the home of Sporting CP sports. The pavilion is named after João Rocha, a former club president who remained in office from September 1973 to October 1986. The inauguration took place on the day June 21, 2017. History Precedents In 1975, João Rocha, president of the club at the time, advanced with the project to create a sports complex near the Estádio José Alvalade (1956). On October 14, 1976, the Pavilion of Alvalade was born. This was, in fact, a sports complex, with 4 thousand square meters and three enclosures: the main pavilion, with capacity for 5000 spectators, and two smaller pavilions used for training. However, the work saw its life shortened dramatically due to the growth of the city of Lisbon and its transport network. Therefore, in September 1986, the main pavilion was demolished due to the construction of the Campo Grande Metro Station. Facing this situation, João Rocha, still president of the club, launched a project to improve the facilities of the club. Realizing an old ambition of the Sporting fans, closed the Estádio José Alvalade through the construction of the called "new bench" and, taking advantage of the space underneath of this one, raised the Nave de Alvalade. With capacity for 1500 spectators, Nave de Alvalade happened to be the house of the Sporting modalities, although it should be only provisional. However, the pavilion hosted numerous campaigns and events. On January 4, 2004, Nave de Alvalade sold out for the last time with a futsal game because, together with the old stadium, it would be demolished to proceed with the project of the new José Alvalade Stadium, which did not contemplate the construction of a new pavilion for the modalities. Need After the demolition of the Nave de Alvalade, Sporting no longer had its own venue for its teams to compete. Despite that the new Alvalade XXI Complex contains a multi-sport building for the preparation and training of the club's athletes, the size of the adept mass and the number of sports practised in the club required a proper venue for high competition. In addition to being aware of this need, something decisive was lacking for the realization of the work: the terrain. Although there were several alternatives and even municipalities that were willing to cede the land,