Arena De São Paulo
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Arena Corinthians, also known as the Neo Química Arena for sponsorship reasons, is a sports
stadium A stadium (: stadiums or stadia) is a place or venue for (mostly) outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage completely or partially surrounded by a tiered structure designed to allow spectators to stand or sit ...
located in
São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...
,
Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
. It is owned, operated, and used by the team
Corinthians The First Epistle to the Corinthians () is one of the Pauline epistles, part of the New Testament of the Christian Bible. The epistle is attributed to Paul the Apostle and a co-author, Sosthenes, and is addressed to the Christian church in C ...
. 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 The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for list of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil fr ...
, 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 201,304-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 Pacaembu Stadium (, ; named after the Pacaembu neighbourhood), currently known as Mercado Libre, Mercado Livre Arena Pacaembu for sponsorship reasons, is an association football stadium in São Paulo, Brazil. Located in the Pacaembu neighbourho ...
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 Olavo Egydio Setúbal (15 April 1923 – 27 August 2008) was a Brazilian industrialist, banker and politician. He had served as Mayor of São Paulo from 1975 to 1979, Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1985 to 1986, and chairman of the Itaúsa co ...
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 The National Bank for Economic and Social Development or NBESD (, abbreviated: BNDES) is a development bank structured as a federal public company associated with the Ministry of the Economy of Brazil. The stated goal is to provide long-term f ...
and sell the
naming rights Naming rights are a financial transaction and form of advertising or memorialization where a corporation, person, or other entity purchases the right to name a facility, object, location, program, or event (most often sports venues), typical ...
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 (DDG), partnering with
Werner Sobek Werner Sobek (born May 16, 1953) is a German architect and structural engineer. Life Werner Sobek was born 1953 in Aalen, Germany. From 1974 to 1980, he studied structural engineering and architecture at the University of Stuttgart. From 1980 ...
, who rendered structural engineering services. The stadium was planned to be completed by March 2013.


FIFA World Cup 2014 hosting

Accenture Accenture plc is a global multinational professional services company originating in the United States and headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, that specializes in information technology (IT) services and management consulting. It was founded in 1 ...
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 The Caixa Econômica Federal (, ''Federal Savings Bank''), also referred to as Caixa or CEF, is a state-owned Brazilian financial services company headquartered in Brasília, Brazil. It is the fourth largest banking institution in Brazil, as ...
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 A reflecting pool, also called a reflection pool, is a water feature found in gardens, parks and memorial sites. It usually consists of a shallow pool of water with a reflective surface, undisturbed by fountain jets. Design Reflecting pools are o ...
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 Granite ( ) is a coarse-grained (phanerite, phaneritic) intrusive rock, intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly coo ...
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 The Burj Khalifa (known as the Burj Dubai prior to its inauguration) is a megatall skyscraper in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. With a total height of 829.8 m (2,722 ft, or just over half a mile) and a roof height (excluding the antenna, but inc ...
project. Lighting was projected by the American firm T. Kondos.


Stadium firsts

The first event held in the arena was an
Ivete Sangalo Ivete Maria Dias de Sangalo Cady (; Dias de Sangalo; born 27 May 1972) is a Brazilian singer, actress, and television personality. Referred to as the "Queen of Brazil", her contributions to music have made her one of the most celebrated entert ...
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 An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, scrimmage, demonstration, training match, pre-season game, warmup match, or preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the playe ...
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 Roberto Rivellino (; born 1 January 1946), known as just Rivellino, is a Brazilian football pundit and former player who was one of the key members of Brazil's 1970 FIFA World Cup-winning team. The son of Italian immigrants from Macchiagodena, ...
from a
penalty kick A penalty shot or penalty kick is a play used in several sports whereby a goal is attempted during untimed play. Depending on the sport, when a player commits certain types of penalties, the opposition is awarded a penalty shot or kick attempt. ...
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 Ronaldo is a Portuguese given name equivalent to the English Ronald. It became a common name in all Portuguese-speaking countries, also prevalent in other Romance countries. People Notable people known as Ronaldo include: Association footballe ...
. The first competitive game was a
2014 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A The 2014 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A was the 58th edition of the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, the top-level of professional football in Brazil. Cruzeiro, the defending champions, won the title for the second time in a row and the fourth ti ...
match between Corinthians and
Figueirense Figueirense Futebol Clube, commonly referred to as Figueirense, is a Brazilian professional club based in Florianópolis, Santa Catarina founded on 12 June 1921. It competes in the Campeonato Brasileiro Série C, the third tier of Brazilian fo ...
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 The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for list of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil fr ...
. Because of FIFA rules, it was called ''Arena de São Paulo'' during the tournament. The stadium hosted the
opening ceremony An opening ceremony, grand opening, or ribbon-cutting ceremony marks the official opening of a newly constructed location or the start of an event.
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.


2016 Summer Olympics

Arena Corinthians was one of the venues of the
2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...
football tournament. It was chosen instead of competitors Morumbi Stadiumthe chosen venue before Arena Corinthians was built and
Allianz Parque Allianz Parque (), also known as Arena Palmeiras or as Arena Palestra Itália, is a football stadium in Água Branca, São Paulo, Brazil, and the home of Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras, Palmeiras. The stadium also serves as a multipurpose arena ...
. Sixteen games were played in the stadium from 3 to 16 August 2016; they were divided equally between men's and women's tournaments. Two matches were played at 17:00 and 21:30 hours on competition days.


Women's tournament


Men's tournament


2019 Copa América

Arena Corinthians was one of the venues of the
2019 Copa América The 2019 Copa América was the 46th edition of the Copa América, the international men's association football championship organized by South America's football ruling body CONMEBOL. It was held in Brazil and took place between 14 June and 7 Ju ...
.


NFL International Series

In November 2023, the
National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...
announced it would play its first game in South America at Arena Corinthians during the 2024 season. The league announced in February 2024 that the
Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...
would host the
Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...
during the first week of the regular season on 6 September 2024. On 19 February 2025, the NFL announced it would return to Arena Corinthians during the 2025 season on 5 September 2025, with the
Los Angeles Chargers The Los Angeles Chargers are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Chargers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC W ...
hosting the
Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division. Established in 1959 ...
.


Names

The stadium was called ''Estádio do Corinthians'' by Corinthians when it was announced. The name being used on the club's official website is ''Arena Corinthians''. The
Brazilian Football Confederation The Brazilian Football Confederation (, CBF) is the governing body of football in Brazil. It was founded on Monday, 8 June 1914, as , and renamed Confederação Brasileira de Desportos in 1916. The football confederation, as known today, sepa ...
uses the name Arena Corinthians.
FIFA The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...
referred to the stadium as ''Arena de São Paulo'' during the World Cup, but also recognises the name Arena Corinthians. The largest media company in Brazil,
Rede Globo TV Globo (stylized as tvglobo; , ), formerly known as Rede Globo de Televisão (; shortened to Rede Globo) or simply known as Globo, is a Brazilian free-to-air television network, launched by media proprietor Roberto Marinho on 26 April 1965 ...
, uses ''Arena Corinthians'' like sports diary ''
Lance! ''Lance!'' is a daily sports newspaper in Brazil, and its first edition was published in 1997. Its headquarters are located in Rio de Janeiro, and they print regional versions for some of the other Brazilian states. History Its tabloid format a ...
'' Local media have tried to give it nicknames. For example, newspaper ''
Folha ''Folha de S.Paulo'' (sometimes spelled ''Folha de São Paulo''), also known as simply ''Folha'' (, ''Sheet''), is a Brazilian daily newspaper founded in 1921 under the name ''Folha da Noite'' and published in São Paulo by the Folha da Manhã c ...
'' refers to Arena Corinthians as ''Itaquerão''; ''
O Estado de S. Paulo ''O Estado de S. Paulo'' (; ), also known as ''Estadão'' (; ), is a daily newspaper published in State of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil. It is the third largest newspaper in Brazil, and its format changed from broadsheet to Berliner (format), ...
'' uses both the neighbourhood-based nickname and the official name.
Rede Record Record (stylized in uppercase; ), formerly known as Rede Record and RecordTV, is a Brazilian free-to-air television network. It is currently the second largest commercial TV station in Brazil, and the 28th largest in the 2012 world ranking. In ...
uses ''Fielzão''. The club planned to sell the stadium naming rights for R$400 million for 20 years. A study by Brunoro Sports Business estimated that the value should be R$21 million per year. Companies that sought to buy the naming rights included
Petrobras Petróleo Brasileiro S.A., better known by and Trade name, trading as the portmanteau Petrobras (), is a Brazilian state-owned enterprise, majority state-owned multinational corporation in the petroleum industry headquartered in Rio de Janeiro. ...
, Ambev,
Grupo Petrópolis Cervejaria Petrópolis is a Brazilian brewery (cervejaria) company headquartered in Petrópolis. The company has 6 industrial plants located in Petrópolis, Boituva, Teresópolis, Rondonópolis, Alagoinhas and Itapissuma, and operates in Brazil, ...
,
Etihad Airways Etihad Airways is one of the two flag carriers of the United Arab Emirates (the other being Emirates). Its head office is in Khalifa City, Abu Dhabi, near Zayed International Airport. The airline commenced operations in November 2003, and ...
,
Qatar Foundation The Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development () is a state-led non-profit organization in Qatar, founded in 1995 by then-List of emirs of Qatar, emir Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani and his second wife Moza bint Nasser Al-Miss ...
,
Caixa Econômica Federal The Caixa Econômica Federal (, ''Federal Savings Bank''), also referred to as Caixa or CEF, is a state-owned Brazilian financial services company headquartered in Brasília, Brazil. It is the fourth largest banking institution in Brazil, as ...
,
Emirates Airlines Emirates is one of the two flag carriers of the United Arab Emirates (the other being Etihad Airways). Based in Al Garhoud, Garhoud, Dubai, the airline is a subsidiary of The Emirates Group, which is owned by the government of Dubai's Invest ...
,
Bradesco Banco Bradesco S.A. is a Brazilian financial services company headquartered in Osasco, in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. It is the third largest banking institution by assets in Brazil and Latin America. It is also one of fifty most valuable ban ...
, Telefonica, BMG,
Itaú Unibanco Banco Itaú Unibanco S.A. is a Brazilian financial services company headquartered in São Paulo, Brazil. Itaú Unibanco was formed through the merger of Banco Itaú and Unibanco in 2008. It is the largest banking institution in Brazil, as well ...
,
Santander Group Banco Santander S.A. trading as Santander Group ( , , ), is a Spanish multinational financial services company based in Santander, with operative offices in Madrid. Additionally, Santander maintains a presence in most global financial centres ...
, Kalunga and
Zurich Insurance Group Zurich Insurance Group Ltd. is a Swiss insurance company, headquartered in Zürich, and the country's largest insurer. the group is the world's 98th largest public company according to ''Forbes'' Global 2000s list, and in 2011, it ranked 94th i ...
. On 1 September 2020 (Corinthians' 110th anniversary) a special event live from the stadium was held to announce the Arena's new name. It was officially renamed Neo Química Arena, part of a 20-year partnership with
Hypera Pharma Hypera Pharma is a Brazilian multinational pharmaceutical company and is the largest Brazilian pharmaceutical company by market capitalization. Headquartered in São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is th ...
, Brazil's largest pharmaceutical company. Neo Química is Hypera's generic drugs division, which already served as Corinthians' main sponsor during the 2010 and 2011 seasons. The full contract is expected to be around R$300–320 million.


Architecture

Aníbal Coutinho designed the stadium to be one "that would help the supporters, that would help the team to win matches, I wanted to make the supporters get on the pitch". Aníbal led a team of 25 architects. The complex is in a property. The built up area is with of concrete. 80% of the structural construction is made of precast elements, 40% manufactured on a plant on-site. The rectangular, , tall stadium has two buildings; the main building on the west side and another on the east side. When measurements are taken from the pitch, the east side height is , the west side is and the north and south ends are tall. The pitch sits at exactly ; Aníbal Coutinho said, "The number 77 is considered lucky for the club. The club is located at 777 São Jorge St. and it brings to mind the 1977 that they won one of their most celebrated championships of all time." (the
Campeonato Paulista The Campeonato Paulista Série A1, commonly known as Campeonato Paulista, nicknamed Paulistão, is the top-flight professional state football league in the Brazilian state of São Paulo. Run by the São Paulo State Football Federation (FPF), ...
of 1977).


West and east sectors

The west side has a façade. VIP seats, television crew equipment, press and most box seats are in the west building. The glass has been designed with a curvature intended to simulate the visual effect of a ball hitting the net. Special, seamless, beams have been developed to support the structure. The geometry consulting company Evolute GmbH developed panelling that rationalised the double-curved freeform glass surface into 855 planar and cylindrical panels, all in hot bent
toughened glass Tempered or toughened glass is a type of safety glass processed by controlled thermal or chemical treatments to increase its strength compared with normal glass. Tempering puts the outer surfaces into compression and the interior into tension ...
. This solution allowed for minimising the number of shapes necessary by 93%, reducing costs considerably. The photo-voltaic glass powers the air conditioning. The complete glass structure is counting the sides; the façade width is by tall. The east side of the stadium houses one of the largest video screens of the world, —. It has 210,000 individual
LEDs A light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor device that emits light when current flows through it. Electrons in the semiconductor recombine with electron holes, releasing energy in the form of photons. The color of the light (correspo ...
; 1,320 custom made luminaires are fitted in long glass sheets. The screen is manufactured by
Osram OSRAM Licht AG is a German company that makes electric lights, headquartered in Munich and Premstätten (Austria). OSRAM positions itself as a high-tech photonics company that is increasingly focusing on sensor technology, visualization and trea ...
Traxon and is controlled by an E:cue lighting control. Glass for both façades were provided by Italian company Sunglass SRL, using Asahi Glass Co.'s Planibel Clear glass. External walls are covered by of white Levantina Techlam ceramic tiles, A Corinthians symbol, constructed from stainless steel and backlighting, will be mounted on the south wall of the east side. The public circulates using 10 escalators, 15 lifts, two ramps and 13 staircases. 59 concession stands are available, as is an auditorium for 360 people and a convention center under the west building. A museum dedicated to Corinthians will be set up in the east building.
Interior design Interior design is the art and science of enhancing the interior of a building to achieve a healthier and more aesthetically pleasing environment for the people using the space. With a keen eye for detail and a Creativity, creative flair, an ...
is designed by
Gensler Gensler is a global design and architecture firm headquartered in San Francisco, California. It is the largest architecture firm in the world by revenue and number of architects. In 2022, Gensler generated $1.785 billion in revenue, the most o ...
. There are six changing rooms. Home team changing rooms occupy , with Jacuzzis,
cryotherapy Cryotherapy, sometimes known as cold therapy, is the local or general use of low temperatures in medical therapy. Cryotherapy can be used in many ways, including whole body exposure for therapeutic health benefits or may be used locally to treat ...
and a private area for the coach. The warm-up area has seating for 86 VIP ticket holders, and is separated by soundproof glass. All the public areas have air conditioning and are finished in marble, granite or top tier ceramic tile.


Seating

There are seats. The stadium has 6,000 second tier covered seating and 10,000 VIP seats. 89 luxury boxes accommodate 1,414 spectators. Distributed on the West building's 5th and 6th floors, 87% have 12 seats, 10% between 21 and 33 seats and 4 units more than 70 seats. The largest units will cover more than . The lowest ring of bleachers encircle the entire arena. It holds 10,500 seats on each side, 6,000 behind the south goal and 9,000 behind the north goal for a total of 35,000+ places. The distance between the first row of seating and the field is on all sides. General seating is provided by Bluecube3 using an exclusive design based on the Integra model. There are four different finishes, ranging from straight chairs without arms to stuffed chairs in leather. Most seats are white. Business level and box seats are finished in black leather and made by
Poltrona Frau Poltrona Frau is a furniture-maker founded in 1912 by Sardinian-born Renzo Frau in Turin, Italy, headquartered since the early 1960s in Tolentino and specializing in leather seating for interior and automotive applications. The company name comb ...
. The 600 seats have laser-engraved club crests.


Roof

Werner Sobek designed the roof, which is held in place by 48 -long trusses. The west and east sides are joined by two identical structures that have a free span of . The total east–west roof length is . Aníbal Coutinho intended to bring a ''paulistano'' flair to the construction using structures that resemble the
São Paulo Museum of Art The São Paulo Museum of Art (, or ') is an art museum in São Paulo, Brazil. It is well known for the architectural significance of its headquarters, a 1968 concrete and glass structure designed by Lina Bo Bardi. It is considered a landmark of ...
, a symbol of the city. The height of the roof and weight of the trusses required the use of the largest
crawler crane A crane is a machine used to move materials both vertically and horizontally, utilizing a system of a guyed mast, boom, hoist (device), hoist, wire ropes or chains, and Sheave (mechanical), sheaves for lifting and relocating heavy objects with ...
available in Latin America. The steel beams together weigh 4,000 tons. The roof has four layers. On the underside is a layer of corrugated steel sheets. Above them, thermal and acoustic insulation is provided by
Polyisocyanurate Polyisocyanurate (), also referred to as PIR, polyol, or ISO, is a thermoset plastic typically produced as a foam and used as rigid thermal insulation. The starting materials are similar to those used in polyurethane (PUR) except that the proport ...
sheets. A layer of plasterboard is above it. Finally, the entire roof is covered with of Firestone Ultraply TPO. On the underside, a flexible membrane covers the structure. This final layer helps to collect rainwater for reuse in other areas of the stadium. The structure was redesigned to duplicate the current noise level supporters create during games. Measurements taken on Pacaembu show that sound levels reach a peak of 113 dB when goals are scored. of glass will be installed on the end closest to the pitch of the west and east roofing. The entire structure measures and weights 6,500 tons.


Scoreboards

Osram installed four scoreboards in the stadium, on the north and south ends, above the bleachers. They are set in pairs, with one facing the pitch and one facing outside. Each screen is and measures . The inside-facing screen has a 7mm
dot pitch Dot pitch (sometimes called line pitch, stripe pitch, or phosphor pitch) is a specification for a computer display, computer printer, image scanner, or other pixel-based devices that describe the distance, for example, between dots ( sub-pixels) ...
and the outside-facing screens will have a 20mm dot pitch. 3,500 flat panel televisions are installed throughout the stadium, individually or as video walls, comprising 3,100 stations.


Lighting

The pitch lighting is going to use 352 Osram Siteco 2000-Watt Metal-halide 6000 K multivapour lamps, guaranteeing over 90% colour fidelity. The 5,000
lux The lux (symbol: lx) is the unit of illuminance, or luminous flux per unit area, in the International System of Units (SI). It is equal to one lumen per square metre. In photometry, this is used as a measure of the irradiance, as perceived by ...
lighting is completely uniform and is 50% brighter than FIFA's recommendation. Osram provides lighting for the entire complex.


Pitch

The field has recommended FIFA dimensions of . It was prepared by World Sports in partnership with Desso. The field is made up of Perennial Ryegrass, which is grown directly at the site. The original idea was to use black grass to avoid the colours of
Palmeiras The Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras (), commonly known as Palmeiras, is a Brazilian professional association football, football club based in the city of São Paulo, in the district of Perdizes (district of São Paulo), Perdizes. Palmeiras is ...
Corinthians' biggest rivalsbut it was proved to be technically impossible and the club chose to use grass with a darker hue. To improve fixation, the grass is intertwined with 22 million artificial fibres. Ultraviolet lights are used nightly to ensure that all parts of the pitch will receive equal lighting; the field is exposed to only two hours of direct sunlight per day. World Sports uses a blend of three cultivars from DLF-Trifolium, ''Ph.D. Ryegrass Perenne'', from
Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...
, US. DLF states that this grass has strong cold and wear tolerance and is disease resistant, combined with fast growth rate. The hue is 8.7 on a scale of 1 to 9, where 9 is dark green. The choice of using ryegrass instead of the most common and usually recommended
Bermuda Bermuda is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. The closest land outside the territory is in the American state of North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. Bermuda is an ...
brought advantages like having longitudinal roots, avoiding the cleats to tangle with them, and resistance to yellowing. It also brought challenges; ryegrass is native to cooler climates and needs temperatures of for optimum growth. Because the temperature in São Paulo rarely falls below , a heating system is not used. A cooling system pushes cold water through of drainage pipes, reducing the grass roots temperature to . The grass is mowed to between and . The drainage system has two operating modes; gravitational and vacuum-enhanced (Subair System). The vacuum draining system can handle up to per hour, improving oxygen levels in the rooting system and cooling the pitch, even during matches. This is equivalent to of rain drained in one hour. The irrigation system has individual sprinkler controls, which are controlled by a computerised system. The system comprises 48 sprinklers—twice the minimum FIFA recommendation.


Information technology and communications

The stadium has wifi and
4G LTE In telecommunications, long-term evolution (LTE) is a standard for wireless broadband communication for cellular mobile devices and data terminals. It is considered to be a "transitional" 4G technology, and is therefore also referred to as 3 ...
in all its sectors. Spectators are able to access game statistics and watch replays that are published on a website maintained by the stadium crew. Supporters are monitored by hundreds of security cameras. All services are contracted with Sonda IT.


Hospitality and stores

There are for 75 barsincluding 13 in the VIP areastwo restaurants and two sports bars in the stadium. All the restaurants and bars are managed by Diverti Arena on a 10-year contract. Diverti invested R$40 million in the stadium; all the properties were fully operational in 2015. Other commercial properties inside the stadium complex are two clothing stores.


Reception

The project received awards for the ''Best Commercial Project'' and the ''Grand Prize as the Best Overall Project in Brazil'' in the largest Corporate Architecture events in Latin America in 2011; it competed against 1,116 projects. Reception by Corinthians supporters was enthusiastic according to a poll, with 83% approval of the stadium. Opposition fans have good approval rates of the stadium. Hundreds of supporters frequently visited the construction site.


Transport

The stadium is east of the city centre and away from the
São Paulo–Guarulhos International Airport SAO or Sao may refer to: Places * Sao civilisation, in Middle Africa from 6th century BC to 16th century AD * Sao, a town in Boussé Department, Burkina Faso * Serb Autonomous Regions (''Srpska autonomna oblast'', SAO), during the breakup of ...
. The nearest subway station is Corinthians-Itaquera, from the stadium. It connects to a railway station with the same name. The
Artur Alvim Artur Alvim is a district in the subprefecture of Penha in the city of São Paulo, placed in the eastern suburban area of the city. It constitutes in a medium-low income neighbourhood, with a mixed space occupied by residences and local commerce. ...
subway station is away. If all the stadium's users boarded trains to leave it, the stadium would be empty in 30 minutes. Created for World Cup matches, an express train connects Luz and the Corinthians-Itaquera
CPTM The Companhia Paulista de Trens Metropolitanos (CPTM) () is one of the rapid transit companies serving the city of São Paulo, alongside the São Paulo Metro, Via Quatro and Via Mobilidade, all four forming the largest metropolitan rail transpo ...
Station, making the trip in 17 minutes. Because of its success, the service was extended to local matches, renamed to 'Expresso Corinthians'. The metro and train stations can accommodate 114,000 passengers per hour. Each metro train can carry 1,600 passengers; trains depart at 85-second intervals. The site has 1,620 covered parking spaces and 929 open air parking spaces, with another 2,214 spaces provided by a shopping mall nearby. There are 61 bus routes that stop close to Arena Corinthians.


Other uses

When the stadium first opened, Corinthians did not plan to host concerts or other sport events in the stadium because the use for non-football events could destroy the pitch and football ticket sales would compensate for the loss of revenue. However, the stadium has still hosted conventions, trade shows, and other events, taking advantage of the luxury boxes in the stadium to host events. On 13 December 2023, the
National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...
(NFL) announced that the stadium would be the site of the first NFL game in Brazil and in South America as part of the
NFL International Series The NFL International Series is a series of American football games during the National Football League (NFL) regular season that are played outside the United States. The series has several sub-series: the NFL London Games in the United Ki ...
, officially making Arena Corinthians a multi-purpose stadium. The game, scheduled for 6 September 2024, was played by the
Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...
as their season opener against the
Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...
. In 2025, the NFL announced they will play another game at this stadium on 5 September, with the
Los Angeles Chargers The Los Angeles Chargers are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Chargers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC W ...
hosting the
Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division. Established in 1959 ...
.


In popular culture

EA Sports EA Sports is a division of Electronic Arts that develops and publishes sports video games. Formerly a marketing gimmick of Electronic Arts, in which they imitated real-life sports networks by calling themselves the "EA Sports Network" (EASN) ...
added all 12 venues used at the 2014 FIFA World Cup, including the Arena Corinthians, to the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil video game. The Arena Corinthians is featured on " You Don't Have to Live Like a Referee", the sixteenth episode of the 25th season of the American animated sitcom ''
The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening, James L. Brooks and Sam Simon for the Fox Broadcasting Company. It is a Satire (film and television), satirical depiction of American life ...
'', and the 546th episode of the series.
Homer Simpson Homer Jay Simpson is the main protagonist of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons'' who is part of the titular family. Homer made his television debut in the short " Good Night" on '' The Tracey Ullman Show'' on April 19, ...
acts as a FIFA World Cup 2014 referee in a game played at Arena Corinthians. The second episode of
Discovery Channel Discovery Channel, known as The Discovery Channel from 1985 to 1995, and often referred to as simply Discovery, is an American cable channel that is best known for its ongoing reality television shows and promotion of pseudoscience. It init ...
's three-episode series ''Building the World Cup'' is dedicated to Arena Corinthians. The Netflix show '' 3%'' used the stadium's marble big halls and platforms as a shooting location.


Controversies

The circumstances in which Arena Corinthians was chosen as the World Cup stadium for São Paulo, and the resources used for its construction, have been criticised.


World Cup hosts

Jose Serra, governor of
São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...
in 2007, planned to bring the opening game to his state—specifically to the Morumbi Stadium—as soon as Brazil was confirmed as the host nation of FIFA World Cup 2014. Mayor Gilberto Kassab supported the option of Morumbi and was assured that president
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (; born Luiz Inácio da Silva; 27 October 1945), known Mononym, mononymously as Lula, is a Brazilian politician, trade unionist and former metalworker who has served as the 39th president of Brazil since 2023. A mem ...
wanted the same. Unhappy with Morumbi, FIFA's secretary general
Jérôme Valcke Jérôme Valcke (born 6 October 1960) is a French football administrator, best known as the former Secretary General of FIFA (the international governing body of the sport). He was fired on 13 January 2016 as a result of allegations arising from ...
said the Morumbi Stadium could not host the opening game and was the worst among the 12 venues presented to FIFA. He recommended that the city should build a new stadium. FIFA technicians stated that the maximum capacity of the current structure would be 46,000 spectatorsbelow the FIFA minimum of 60,000. São Paulo Futebol Clube's director João Paulo de Jesus Lopes said this was "a lie". FIFA's president
Sepp Blatter Joseph Sepp Blatter (born Josef Blatter; 10 March 1936) is a Swiss former association football, football administrator who served as the list of Presidents of FIFA, eighth president of FIFA from 1998 to 2015. He has been banned from participatin ...
stated that Morumbi could not host the opening game or semifinals without an extensive renovations plan. The Morumbi Stadium failed to provide proof of funding for a R$630 million renovation plan requested by FIFA to secure its status as a World Cup venue; the stadium was then excluded from the tournament on 16 June 2010. The Local World Cup Committee suggested to use Arena Corinthians instead. FIFA accepted the suggestion and confirmed the decision on 10 October 2011. Journalist Wagner Vilaron from
O Estado de S. Paulo ''O Estado de S. Paulo'' (; ), also known as ''Estadão'' (; ), is a daily newspaper published in State of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil. It is the third largest newspaper in Brazil, and its format changed from broadsheet to Berliner (format), ...
deemed the exclusion of the Morumbi Stadium from the World Cup and the subsequent choice of Arena Corinthians as a venue for the event to be politically charged. After receiving several negative responses from FIFA about the renovation project for Morumbi, then-CBF-president
Ricardo Teixeira Ricardo Terra Teixeira (; born June 20, 1947) is the former president of the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF). He was in the office from January 16, 1989 to March 12, 2012. In July 2012 a Swiss prosecutor's report revealed that, during his ...
lost patience with São Paulo Futebol Clube officers; he considered that they were delaying the decision by purposely failing to meet the requirements to force the government to spend money on the construction. São Paulo's opposition to Teixeira in the now defunct
Clube dos 13 Clube dos 13 (Club of the 13) was the organization responsible for representing the interest of the most powerful football (soccer), football clubs of Brazil, including members from several football state federations such as Federação Paulista d ...
electionwhich was won by ruling-side Fábio Koff, aligned with São Paulo's Juvenal Juvêncioirritated the CBF president. At the same time, an affinity between Teixeira and then-president of Corinthians, Andrés Sanchezwho was chosen as the head of delegation for the national team during the
2010 FIFA World Cup The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010. ...
and on the same side on Clube dos 13's electionwas noticed. São Paulo's mayor Gilberto Kassab supported the selection of the Morumbi Stadium and guaranteed that president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva wanted the same; he blamed FIFA for vetoing the selection. He said Corinthians could not influence FIFA and that CBF wanted Morumbi Stadium to host the opening game. The senior management of São Paulo F.C. criticised the chosen stadium and the selection process on numerous occasions after Morumbi Stadium was excluded from the World Cup. President
Juvenal Juvencio Decimus Junius Juvenalis (), known in English as Juvenal ( ; 55–128), was a Roman poet. He is the author of the ''Satires'', a collection of satirical poems. The details of Juvenal's life are unclear, but references in his works to people fro ...
said the region had no city structures, hospitals or hotels; the only way to enter or leave the area would be to use a fire engine and that there was no way to create a VIP area around the stadium. Juvenal blamed ex-governor José Serra for Morumbi Stadium's deselection. Serra denied the accusations.
Carlos Miguel Aidar Carlos Miguel Castex Aidar (born 25 August 1946), is a Brazilian lawyer, and former president of São Paulo FC. Personal life Carlos Miguel is the son of , who was also president of São Paulo. He has Lebanese ancestry. Lawyer career Aidar ...
, then a candidate for the SPFC presidency, said Arena Corinthians exists because Brazil's president demanded the construction of a new stadium in São Paulo; he also said Corinthians will never repay the loans for the stadium, that Odebrecht was the real owner, that FIFA and the Brazilian government only wanted to make money for construction companies, and that Itaquera was "another world, another country, nobody can get there". Later he visited the Arena by car, recanted his opinion and said the stadium was "marvelous" and could be reached easily.


Public funding allegations

Vinícius Segalla from UOL said tax credits and BNDES resources are public money and that the concession of those resources to Corinthians are unclear. The federal government dismissed the notion, saying that tax credits are intended to encourage economical growth and work opportunities for the areas surrounding the stadia. The city government said tax credits are not subsidies and the stadium will be a boon to the city, especially the east zone. They also said subsidies given to the
Brazilian Grand Prix The Brazilian Grand Prix (), currently held under the name São Paulo Grand Prix (), is a Formula One championship race which is currently held at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace in Interlagos neighborhood, Cidade Dutra, São Paulo. The in ...
and Carnaval among others also bring benefits to the city. Public Prosecutor Marcelo Milani contested the validity of tax credits issued by the city and sued then-mayor
Gilberto Kassab Gilberto Kassab (; born 12 August 1960) is a Brazilian politician and former mayor of São Paulo. His term ended in 2012. A civil engineer and economist, one of the most famous Brazilians of Lebanese descent, Kassab took over from José Serra, a ...
for R$1.74 billion; the judges said Milani's case was without merit and dismissed it.


Project changes

The project executed is not the project approved by the city council in 2011. Amendments were made to the final project, which was submitted on 25 July 2013 and approved on 13 February 2014.


Construction accidents

Two people were killed in an accident on 27 November 2013, which destroyed part of the east building. A crane fell while carrying a part of the roof, destroying eight columns of the LED screen and part of an internal slab. The structure was not affected because anti-vandalism glass was installed on the east façade. An area of was closed for investigation. Initial hypotheses were human error, crane mechanical failure and unstable ground under the crane. Liebherr said the crane's "black box" data recorder did not record anything on the day of the accident, although it should have. , the case has not yet been concluded. Liebherr paid for a study from the
Federal University of Rio de Janeiro The Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (, UFRJ) is a public university, public research university in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is the largest federal university in the country and is one of the Brazilian centers of excellence in teaching and r ...
, which concluded that the cause was unstable ground the same conclusion reached by police experts; based on this, police indicted nine construction workers. Odebrecht refuted the conclusions, and showed a study by private company Geocompany as proof. Another report on the incident provided by IPT/
University of São Paulo The Universidade de São Paulo (, USP) is a public research university in the Brazilian state of São Paulo, and the largest public university in Brazil. The university was founded on 25 January 1934, regrouping already existing schools in ...
blamed the accident on the counterweights being heavier than what was specified on the rigging plan. Crane operations in the stadium were suspended at the time; all cranes on the site were inspected and approved to continue work 16 days later. The families of the deceased workers received R$2.9 million in compensation. Another worker died in an accident on the site while working on the temporary seating. Local authorities' initial assessment was that the worker caused the accident by not following the required safety procedures. , an investigation into the death was underway.


Average attendances


See also

*
List of football stadiums in Brazil The following is a list of Association football, football stadiums in Brazil, ordered by capacity. Current stadiums with a capacity of 5,000 or more are included. Current stadiums See also * List of association football stadiums ...
*
Lists of stadiums The following are lists of stadiums throughout the world. Note that horse racing and motorsport venues are not included at some pages, because those are not stadiums but sports venues. Combined lists *List of stadiums by capacity * List of c ...


References


External links


Arena Corinthians official website

Odebrecht Arena Corinthians official website

Images tagged Arena Corinthians
at
Flickr Flickr ( ) is an image hosting service, image and Online video platform, video hosting service, as well as an online community, founded in Canada and headquartered in the United States. It was created by Ludicorp in 2004 and was previously a co ...
*
Arena Corinthians 3D Model Picture Gallery
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Arena Corinthians Sport Club Corinthians Paulista Sports venues in São Paulo Football venues in São Paulo Venues of the 2016 Summer Olympics Sports venues completed in 2014 Tourist attractions in São Paulo 2014 establishments in Brazil