PE: Arena underused for 10 years and with design flaws – 05/19/2023 – Sport

Ten years after its inauguration, the Pernambuco Arena is experiencing a very different scenario from that observed during the 2013 Confederations Cup and 2014 World Cup. broken promises

Sport, Santa Cruz and Náutico, the three main football teams in the state, play only sporadic games there.

The stadium, belonging to the government of Pernambuco, is located in São Lourenço da Mata, in the metropolitan region of Recife, 19 km from the capital, and has a capacity for 45,500 fans. The first official game at the stadium was on May 22, 2013, a friendly in which Náutico and Sporting, from Portugal, drew 1-1.

The announcement of the construction of the arena was made in 2009, after the definition of the 12 host cities for the 2014 World Cup. At the time, the Pernambuco government chose to build the stadium in a forested area in Greater Recife, under the promise that urban area would advance to the site.

The then governor Eduardo Campos (PSB) promised the construction of the “City of the Cup” around the stadium, in four stages, between 2014 and 2025, with investments of more than R$ 1 billion, between public and private resources.

The planned neighborhood would have 40,000 residents, hospital, convention center, two hotels, four schools, college, political administrative center and shops by 2025, in addition to the stadium.

“The incomplete work on Cidade da Copa until today makes us say that this legacy ends up being doubtful. If it had done what was on paper, maybe it would have been different. After the World Cup, the project was abandoned”, evaluates the secretary of Tourism and Leisure, Daniel Coelho, appointed by the current governor, Raquel Lyra (PSDB).

Access to the stadium is another complicating factor. Recife’s metro does not have direct access to the site. After disembarking at the nearest station, the user still needs to take a bus. On big game days, the state government sets up a special transport scheme with express buses departing from Recife.

Access by car has been made easier in recent years, but it is still complex. Leaving the area close to the arena took up to two hours on days when the stadium was full. Currently, with two highways as an alternative, the route is more fluid.

“There was an unacceptable design error. In stadiums around the world, you get off the subway and are already in front of the stadium. The arena itself is not that far away, the problem is traffic. And the subway is more complex”, observes Coelho .

Even before the inauguration, the old consortium that managed the space, formed by the construction company Odebrecht, by the English manager AEG and by the state government, signed a contract with Náutico so that the team could host games there, leaving the Aflitos stadium, traditional stronghold of the club.

In exchange, Náutico received BRL 5 million to invest in its training center and was guaranteed a budget of BRL 350 thousand to BRL 500 thousand per month for participating in the Brazilian Championship, depending on the series in which it was.

In the sporting sphere, the club was hit negatively. With the difficulties in accessing the arena, the crowd did not show up significantly often, which was the trigger for the movement back home. In December 2018, Náutico returned to Aflitos.

During this interval, the Arena de Pernambuco stopped paying for Náutico financially. This is because, in 2016, the state government broke the contract with Odebrecht and took over the management of the stadium alone, which affected transfers to the club.

Náutico filed a lawsuit in court to receive compensation due to breach of contract. According to the president of the club, Diógenes Braga, the process is being carried out in secrecy of Justice.

“The Arena had a contract that was broken, not by Náutico. Not having a contractual bond was an important element [para voltar aos Aflitos]” says Diogenes.

Off the pitch, the construction of the stadium is also the subject of investigations. The State Court of Auditors defined, in February, that there was an overprice of 81,306,446.60 (base date May 2009) in the work.

Currently, the space generates a monthly cost of R$ 650,000 to the state government for maintenance. As revenue is around R$ 200,000, there is an average loss of more than R$ 400,000 per month to public coffers, according to the Secretariat of Tourism and Leisure.

The government of Pernambuco also informed that it pays a debt of R$ 3 million per month as a result of the termination of the previous contract with Odebrecht.

“It’s good equipment, but with immense challenges. The government that built it didn’t pay, and the debt remained with the people of Pernambuco for 35 years. It’s up to the government [atual], agreeing or not, pay that debt. In addition to the costing challenge”, says the Secretary of Tourism.

The state administration, at the time under the command of Paulo Câmara (PSB), assumed, in 2016, a debt of BRL 237 million with the termination, to be paid between 14 and 15 years.

In an attempt to reduce the deficit, the arena has hosted, in addition to a few football matches, concerts and business tourism fairs. “Professional football alone is not sustainable”, says Daniel Coelho. “We need to improve fundraising with sponsorships, either with naming rights or with smaller sponsors, in addition to identifying private events.”

The club that plays its games at the Arena is Retrô, runner-up in Pernambuco in 2022 and 2023 and participant in the D Series of the Brazilian Championship. The team is considering building its own stadium in the future, but, without a deadline, intends to continue playing at the Pernambuco Arena.

Other clubs use the space for sporadic games, such as Náutico, Sport and Santa Cruz, especially when it is not possible to play in their stadiums or in games with a larger audience.

Sport can play a period in São Lourenço da Mata in 2024 if the reforms that are planned for Ilha do Retiro, such as improvements to the lawn, lighting and electrical grid, clash with periods of official competitions.

“We hired an architectural firm to [o projeto de reforma] be ready in up to 180 days. It is possible that we do it in phases”, says the president of the club, Yuri Romão.

The president of FPF (Pernambucana Football Federation), Evandro Carvalho, sees the legacy of Arena de Pernambuco as positive. According to him, clubs need to understand the size of the stadium and start taking decisive matches to the sports arena.

“Each year that passes, clubs become aware that they should use the arena more. The Copa do Nordeste final was the last one we had in a private stadium. indicate arenas for the finals. [final] in stadiums where the city has an arena”, says Evandro.

The state government is trying to convince clubs and the FPF to take the finals of the 2024 edition of the Pernambucano Championship to the field in São Lourenço da Mata. The move is part of an attempt to breathe new life into the stadium.

In 2023, Arena de Pernambuco hosted 12 games. The largest audience, 27,500, was in the classic Sport x Santa Cruz for the Copa do Nordeste. The average attendance was 4,260, less than 10% of the stadium’s capacity.

Retrô, the team that most frequents the stadium, had its game with the greatest presence of fans in the first leg of the final of Pernambucano, against Sport, with 7,000 fans.

The report tried to contact the former extraordinary secretary for the World Cup in Pernambuco, Ricardo Leitão, but he did not answer the calls.