By Samindra Kunti
March 13 – The Brazilian government has announced that three government secretariats will take office at the Mane Garrincha stadium. Once more, Senator Romario criticized the high costs for the renovation of the stadium.
The Mane Garrincha stadium was transformed from a downtrodden ground in the 70s and the 80s into a state-of-the-art venue for the 2014 World Cup. Brasilia hosted five matches during the tournament, including the third-place playoff between hosts Brazil and The Netherlands.
The venue’s price tag of €839 million far exceeded the original price projection of €316 million. The Maracana stadium, which hosted the World Cup final, cost €457 million.
The Brazilian capital is a football-anaemic city, lacking a top-flight club, and it was always feared that the stadium would turn into a white elephant once FIFA had packed its bags. The local government has announced that the secretariats of Economy and Sustainable Development, Human and Social Development and Sports and Entertainment will take up all available office space at the Mane Garrincha stadium.
Governor Rodrigo Rollem of the PSB [Partido Socialista Brasileiro] is taking the measure to reduce the costs of the annual stadium rent of €3.2 million.
Senator Romario, a World Cup winner in 1994 and a member of the PSB too, did not hesitate to publicly criticize the measure.
“Seven months after the World Cup we start to see the fate of the World Cup stadiums,” wrote the senator in an open letter. “The one in Brasilia, that costs €180,000 to maintain per month, is turning into an office!”
“Unfortunatelty, we are facing problems that were already clear before the World Cup,” continued Romario. “We are paying a lot for the construction of the stadiums in a lot of cities without football tradition and without a post-World Cup plan.
“It’s a good alternative, but far from ideal, because, in the end a stadium should be maintained through sports,” concluded Romario.
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