Arena Corinthians


Arena Corinthians, also known as the Neo Química Arena for sponsorship reasons, is a sports stadium located in São Paulo, Brazil. It is owned, operated, and used by the team Corinthians. It has a seating capacity of, making it the fifth-largest stadium in the top tier of the Brazilian League and 13th-largest stadium in Brazil.
It hosted six matches during the 2014 FIFA World Cup, including the opening match on 12 June 2014. Because of a requirement to have at least 65,000 seats for the World Cup opening match, temporary seats were added to the stadium for the tournament. The temporary seats started to be removed shortly after its last World Cup match.

History

Background

In 1980, Corinthians was planning to build a new 21,304-capacity stadium, as their own Alfredo Schürig Stadium, also known as Parque São Jorge, held fewer than 14,000 people and the city's Pacaembu Stadium had to be shared with other teams. Plans to build a new stadium required a large area. The club's president Vicente Matheus asked for a concession from São Paulo's mayor Olavo Setúbal in the Itaquera region, east of the city centre. The mayor accepted the request 10 November 1978 and a concession for 90 years was granted on 26 December 1978 for a property. The area was owned at the time by COHAB, an agency for public housing controlled by the São Paulo City government. The original plan was to build the stadium in three to five years. The concession was renewed in 1988 for 90 years, with the condition that any construction made in the area would revert to the city at no cost. However, funding was not obtained and other alternatives were considered, such as a concession for the Pacaembu Stadium and demolishing the Alfredo Schürig Stadium to make room for another.
On 31 August 2010, Corinthians announced the construction of the stadium with an estimated cost of R$335 million and an expected gross revenue of R$100 million per year. The original plans allow for an expansion to 70,000 seats. The club expected to get financing from BNDES and sell the naming rights for the stadium to pay for the construction costs. The main architect of the project was Aníbal Coutinho; he was assisted by Antônio Paulo Cordeiro from Coutinho, Diegues, Cordeiro, partnering with Werner Sobek, who rendered structural engineering services. The stadium was planned to be completed by March 2013.

FIFA World Cup 2014 hosting

estimated that the World Cup opening would bring R$30.75 Billion over 10 years to the city's economy; the study's results encouraged Brazil to site the opening match in São Paulo. A study from Fundação Getúlio Vargas estimated R$1 Billion in revenue during the World Cup, as 290 thousand tourists were expected for the event. After Morumbi Stadium was deemed unsuitable by FIFA, the Local World Cup Committee looked for alternatives and set on offering Arena Corinthians to host the opening game; FIFA accepted the suggestion and confirmed the decision on 10 October 2011. Hosting the opening game required modifications to the project that raised the cost from the original R$335 million to R$1.07 billion to accommodate FIFA's requirements. Cuts in equipment, furniture and construction costs reduced the cost. Because of FIFA's agreements with Brazil, none of the construction work related to the World Cup was taxed by the Federal Government; the final price agreed upon was R$820 million.
A new contract was signed on 19 July 2011 with Odebrecht; R$400 million of the total would be financed by BNDES and the remaining R$420 million would come from tax credits granted by the city. A 2007 law stated the tax credits could be used by any company that established itself in the Eastern region of the city, providing a credit of R$0.60 per R$1.00 invested. A new law was passed by the city legislature to deal specifically with this stadium and reduce the incentives, linking the concession of the credits to hosting the World Cup opening match and limiting the total amount of credits to R$420 million. The concession was justified by the expectation that the stadium will generate R$950 million in city taxes during the six years after its opening. R$530 million in excess of the tax credits were given. The financing contract with BNDES was signed on 29 November 2013, under their ProCopas Arenas World Cup program. Caixa Econômica Federal is the distributing agent.
The estimated construction cost did not include the R$38.1 million required for adding temporary bleachers, which were removed after the World Cup was over. They were set on one of the sides and on the north and south ends. The addition of the bleachers would raise the stadium's capacity up to 72,000 seats, but would necessitate the relocation of VIP areas and television equipment reducing capacity. Corinthians paid for additional temporary infrastructure required exclusively for the World Cup, which was estimated to cost between R$60 million and 100 million.
The World Cup brought more than tourists and an estimated R$1 billion in revenue to the city.

Project costs and revenue

The stadium eventually cost R$965 million, 15% more than originally estimated. The two-year delay in receiving BNDES funds caused an increase of R$108 million to the cost because of the difference in interest between loans taken from regular banks and from the government agency. Temporary structures were included in the total cost, currently estimated to be R$77 million. After the sale of the tax credits received, Corinthians will have to pay between R$700 and R$750 million spread over 12 years. Aníbal Coutinho projected the stadium to generate R$150 million per year. Andres Sanchez expects revenue to reach R$200 million per year and expenses to be up to R$35 million per year. Revenue will come from ticket sales and commercial properties in the arena, especially corporate conventions, fairs and events. On 25 August 2013, Andres said that out of 16 naming rights properties, he had already secured seven buyers, although no deals had yet been formalised. The club plans to sell the stadium naming rights for R$400 million for 20 years.

Construction

The stadium was delivered to Corinthians on 15 April 2014. Modifications for hosting the World Cup were still underway until the club handed the arena to FIFA for the competition on 20 May 2014. The peak number of workers on site was 2,300, recorded in November 2012. The enterprise generated 26 thousand jobs during its construction.

Renovations

After the World Cup, Corinthians formally moved into the stadium; it was 92% ready for their use just after the tournament, and was completely retrofitted by February 2015. The estimated cost of the renovations was R$20 million. One of the largest changes was the construction of large balconies and the installation of scoreboards behind the goals where the temporary seating was installed for the World Cup.

Landscaping

The west side has a large, tree-lined, pedestrian mall with a reflecting pool and new illumination. The reflecting pools also work as a performance fountain, providing splash and spectacle at programmed moments during stadium events. Around the complex, granite flooring have stripes evocative of the club's second uniform, in synchronisation with the external illumination. There are benches and large gardens; the media centre is housed in one of them. The landscaping was designed by John Loomis, who headed the Burj Khalifa project. Lighting was projected by the American firm T. Kondos.

Stadium firsts

The first event held in the arena was an Ivete Sangalo show for 3,000, celebrating the club's 103rd anniversary on 29 September 2013. The first public football matches at the stadium consisted of friendlies between former Corinthians players on 10 May 2014. More than 100 players played at the event.
The first goal at the new stadium was scored by Rivellino from a penalty kick conceded by Palhinha. Rivellino shot at his own goal because all the players on the pitch insisted that the first goal at the Arena was his. The kick went past Ronaldo. The first competitive game was a 2014 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A match between Corinthians and Figueirense on 18 May 2014, when hosts Corinthians lost to Figueirense 0–1. The first international match was the opening match for the 2014 FIFA World Cup between Brazil and Croatia on 12 June 2014.

International events

2014 FIFA World Cup

The stadium was one of the venues for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Because of FIFA rules, it was called Arena de São Paulo during the tournament. The stadium hosted the opening ceremony followed by the opening match between Brazil and Croatia, three other group stage matches, a Round 16 match and a semi-final. Because of the request of at least 65,000 seats for the World Cup opening match, temporary seats were added to the stadium for the tournament, although the final usable capacity only reached 62,200 for the opening match.
As the original screens were too large to be used with the temporary seating installed, temporary screens were rented specially for the World Cup. FIFA requires screens smaller than the originally projected, with a area. Because subsequent matches had lower VIP and press demands, 4,000 more seats were added, raising the usable capacity to 66,200.
DateTime Team #1ResultTeam #2RoundAttendance
12 June 201417:003–1Group A
19 June 201416:002–1Group D
23 June 201413:002–0Group B
26 June 201417:000–1Group H
1 July 201413:001–0 Round of 16
9 July 201417:000–0 Semi-finals