Alvaláxia Cinema Shuts as Sporting CP Builds Storyverse Entertainment Hub

The multiplex tucked beneath Alvalade’s football cathedral went dark this week, closing the chapter on one of Lisbon’s most recognisable suburban cinemas and lighting a fresh debate about how – and where – the capital will watch films next. Twelve screens, once bustling with weekend crowds, have fallen silent as Sporting Clube de Portugal presses ahead with an immersive-experience hub central to its expanding Cidade Sporting blueprint.

Snapshot: what just happened – and why it matters

• Sporting CP now owns the entire Alvaláxia complex after a €17 M deal in 2025.

• The club chose not to renew the lease with NOS Cinemas, triggering the shutdown.

• Plans call for a “pioneering immersive space” where projectors once rolled.

• For Lisbon moviegoers, the loss deepens a nationwide contraction of cinema screens.

Curtains down at Alvaláxia

Opened in 2003 as a flashy newcomer to the city’s multiplex scene, the venue – most recently branded Cinemas NOS Alvaláxia – watched its audience shrink from 275 776 patrons in 2019 to just 121 783 in 2025. The fall mirrored the wider post-pandemic slump and signalled to Sporting that cinematic footfall could no longer anchor the shopping gallery. Club officials therefore submitted a formal request to IGAC asking to cancel the site’s classification as a cinema, a procedural step that still awaits Culture Ministry sign-off. NOS Cinemas chief Nuno Aguiar conceded the decision was out of his hands, remarking that these were “screens we liked to keep” but that the real-estate equation won out.

Sporting’s strategy beyond football

Alvaláxia is only one piece of a much bigger puzzle. Sporting’s board wants the stadium precinct to operate as an all-day entertainment ecosystem, bringing museum exhibitions, retail, e-sports and now an interactive digital playground into the mix. Executives frame it as a way to diversify revenue, deepen fan loyalty and project the club’s brand on the international stage. The soon-to-be-built installation, described internally as an “immersive storyverse”, promises motion tracking, AR overlays and match-day tie-ins capable of turning casual visitors into season-ticket converts. While details remain under wraps, architects have hinted at a modular design that can host concerts, gaming tournaments, film-inspired VR rides and corporate events – a far cry from the popcorn-and-cola nights that defined the site’s first two decades.

A symptom of Portugal’s cinema contraction

The closure fits an uncomfortable pattern: Portugal lost 37 screens in 2025 and authorities expect another 46 to disappear nationwide by year-end. From Viseu to Tavira, operators cite shrinking margins, streaming competition, a thin pipeline of blockbuster titles and soaring energy bills. In response, the government convened a working group on exhibition last November to weigh tax incentives and cross-subsidies for smaller towns, though its recommendations have yet to surface. Cultural economists warn that every multiplex that shutters widens the urban-rural gap in cultural access, making cinema a luxury rather than a casual pastime for many Portuguese families.

What options remain for Lisbon film fans?

Greater Lisbon still boasts more than 80 active screens, from the IMAX in Colombo to arthouse theatres like Cinema Ideal in Chiado. NOS has upgraded several complexes with 100 % laser projection and Dolby Atmos, hoping premium tech can lure audiences off the couch. Independent exhibitors are experimenting with director Q&As, wine-pairing sessions and cine-concerts to add social value that streaming cannot replicate. For residents around Alvalade, however, the nearest multiplex is now a metro ride away at Campo Pequeno or Parque das Nações – a small but symbolic shift in the city’s cultural geography. As Monday commuters glance at the darkened façades beneath Estádio José Alvalade, the message is clear: in 2026, the way Lisbon watches stories is changing as quickly as the stories themselves.