“Mario Celso Petraglia” will compete with Ligga Arena

I return to the fact. The advisors of the Athletico they were summoned with the obligation to erase a 90-year history. The Baixada stadium, which has been named after Joaquim Américo Guimarães since 1934, will adopt the name “Mario Celso Petraglia” as its identity.

In 2017, when Mario Petraglia wanted to change some of Athletico’s centuries-old values, I wrote: “Atleticanos cannot burn idols and books on the history of Hurricane, as Petraglia is doing. They need to protect and guard them as untouchable values. It is necessary, because in the future someone could write against Petraglia, wanting to consign him to history as a thief.”

Demanding respect and protecting centuries-old values ​​and feelings, in the case of Athletico, is like throwing a punch at the tip of a knife. So, the issue of changing the name of the stadium has to be analyzed from a commercial aspect.

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A Ligga Telecom acquired the rights to the name of Arena da Baixada for 15 years. For the term of the contract, you will have to pay R$200 million. At the time, Athletico announced that it was a married deal to pay the installments of the amount owed to Paraná Fomento for the construction of Baixada.

The name and character of Mario Celso Petraglia, as they are associated with Athletico’s business, have a strong commercial significance. This association created such a strong brand in the football market that, at times, it turns Furacão into a simple reference for business. There were many moments in these 29 years that Petraglia transformed himself and was transformed bigger than Athletico.

In short, the character magnifies the importance of the name Mario Celso Petraglia millions of times in commercial matters, above the common man. When the neon sign is turned on and Baixada’s new identity as “Estadio Mario Celso Petraglia” appears imposingly, there will be involuntary competition or even an overlapping of brands in the popular consciousness. And popular consciousness when it comes to football is driven by passion.

Carneiro and Mafuz debate “Mario Celso Petraglia Stadium”; watch the special podcast

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