Corinthians Arena - Football (Soccer)

Corinthians Arena - Football (Soccer)

Location - Miguel Inácio Curi Avenue, São Paulo

Constructed - 2014

Renovated - 2014

Capacity - 49,205 (Originally planned for over 201,000)

Architect - Aníbal Coutinho

In planning since 1980, the Corinthians soccer team sought to replace their tiny 14,000 seat arena with a modern high capacity arena seating over 200,000. Funding was the ultimate obstacle in completing that vision. However in 2011 FIFA denied the application to use the city's existing stadium, and made it clear that a new arena would need to be built. At a cost of $435m, the stadium's construction was halted mid-way through due to a delay in receiving funding from BNDES, the Brazilian Development Bank who received naming rights for the stadium.

A view from inside the stadium prior to the beginning of a match

In November 2013 disaster struck when a crane collapsed during installation of the final section of the bridge-like roof structure. Two workers were killed and the stadium's opening which was set for December 2014 was delayed by nearly 5 months. Amazingly, the accident happened during the worker's lunch break. Had it happened during active work, the disaster could have been magnitudes worse.

An aerial view of the accident and the damage it caused

The legacy for this stadium is incredibly bright since it wasn't purpose built for either the FIFA World Cup or the 2016 Olympics. The Corinthians soccer club plans to make over $100m in revenues per year in ticket sales and will build a 27,000 square foot convention center. The stadium will not be used for purposes such as concerts since such events can damage artificial pitch, however ticket sales are projected to more than make up for the loan payments that must be made on the stadium.

After the world cup, the stadium was renovated to remove the additional temporary seating and install several massive LED scoreboards.

The Corinthians Arena during the 2014 FIFA World Cup

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