Impressive photos of World Cup stadium construction

An aerial shot shows Arena Fonte Nova stadium in Salvador. Originally known as Estadio Octavio Mangabeira, the former stadium was built in January 1951 then closed down in 2007 and demolished in 2010. (Valter Pontes/Reuters/Files)

An aerial view of the Arena Fonte Nova in Salvador, Brazil. It has a capacity of 51,708 and will host six games of the tournament. (Daniel Alves/AP Photo/Portal da Copa)

Estadio Nacional Mané Garrincha in Brasilia during a game between Brazil and Japan during the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup. (Eraldo Peres/AP Photo)

An aerial view of the Castelao stadium in Fortaleza, Brazil. Castelao will host six matches during the 2014 FIFA World Cup soccer tournament. (Fabio Lima/AP Photo/Portal da Copa)

Castelao will host matches during the 2014 World Cup soccer tournament. (Fabio Lima/AP Photo/Portal da Copa)

Arena de Sao Paulo Stadium, one of the venues for the 2014 World Cup, before a soccer match test in the Sao Paulo district of Itaquera. (Paulo Whitaker/Reuters)

A general view of the Arena de Sao Paulo Stadium, one of the venues for the 2014 World Cup. (Paulo Whitaker/Reuters)

A general view of the Arena de Sao Paulo Stadium. (Paulo Whitaker/Reuters)

The main entrance of Maracana stadium is pictured before a press visit in Rio de Janeiro. While it was undergoing renovation, visitors of the stadium were able to take away a piece of the old stadium as a souvenir. (Sergio Moraes/Reuters)

A woman simulates using a wheelchair at a physically handicapped lot inside of the Maracana stadium during a press visit. (Sergio Moraes/Reuters)

A worker carries a guardrail inside the Maracana stadium. Once the largest stadium in the world, holding about 200,000 people, it has downsized its capacity for the tournament to 74,698. (Sergio Moraes/Reuters)

A volunteer poses for a picture inside the Maracana stadium, one of the stadiums hosting the 2014 World Cup soccer matches, during a press visit in Rio de Janeiro. (Sergio Moraes/Reuters)

A view of the Arena da Baixada soccer stadium before Atletico Paranaense and Corinthians play the first match to test the stadium after renovations ahead of the World Cup in Curitiba. (Rodolfo Buhrer/Reuters)

The city of Natal was only allowed to be one of the host cities for the tournament when it agreed to demolish its old stadiums and create a more modern and bigger stadium. (Christophe Simon/AFP)

Nicknamed "Gigante do Beira-Rio" (The Giant of Beira-Rio), the stadium officially opened in 1969 after taking nearly a decade to build. The remodeling of this stadium was a project dubbed "Gigante para Sempre" (A Giant for all time). (AP Photo)

An aerial view of the Arena Pernambuco soccer stadium in Recife that will host five matches during the tournament. (Paulo Whitaker/Reuters)

The stadium is the eighth of the 12 World Cup stadiums to be officially handed over, with construction still underway in Curitiba and Sao Paulo, which will host the opening match on June 12. (Bruno Kelly/Reuter)

Arena da Amazonia stadium on the day of its inauguration in Manaus in the state of Amazonas, Brazil. It is one of three stadiums that still has to be finished before the games. (Jose Zamith/AP Photo/Portal da Copa)

An aerial view of the Estadio Mineirao, one of the stadiums hosting the 2014 World Cup soccer matches, which underwent some remodeling. Among other things, the pitch was lowered to improve stadium accessibility. (Washington Alves/Reuters)

Aeriel view of Mineirao stadium in Belo Horizonte, which was completed in December 1965. The stadium has a capacity of 58,259 and will host six matches including one semi-final match. (Rodrigo Lima/Brazillian Ministry of Tourism/AFP/archives)