In 1969, the regional government renamed the stadium, assigning it the name of Estádio do Professor Marcelo Caetano. However, the decision was not too popular with local fans and quickly fell into disuse, and was reverted to Estádio dos Barreiros. On 15 May 1977, a record crowd of 22,000 people squeezed into the stadium to see Marítimo gain promotion to the Primeira Liga for the first time. Due to the higher than capacity crowd, many spectators sat on the athletics running track and on the roof of the changing rooms to get a view of the match.
