Though one of the poorest countries in the European Union, Portugal invested $780 million in construction of stadiums for the Euro Cup, more than any other host of the event has ever spent. At the Algarve Stadium in the seaside resort of Faro-Loulé, Hellmuth, Obata & Kassabaum topped the stadium with two billowing sails made of a tensile fabric structure held up by 65-foot masts and cables. Their swooping shape is designed to provide shade over the stands and to allow air currents to swirl under the cloth and across the seats. "For years and years, town halls or banks or churches conveyed the status or identity of a city," said Richard Breslin, an architect with HO& K. "Now they are football stadiums." NY Times