By Samindra Kunti
March 3 – Corinthians and the city of Sao Paulo are at odds over a development incentive certificate (DIC) for the Arena Corinthians, worth €12.6 million.
The Arena Corinthians hosted six games during the 2014 World Cup, including the opener between Brazil and Croatia and the Argentina vs Holland semi-final.
The state-of-the-art stadium is now Corinthians’s home base. Brazil’s biggest club previously played at Sao Paulo’s municipal stadium, the Pacaembu. The bill for the stadium’s construction bloated from a provisional $356 million to $513 million.
The city of Sao Paulo offered a tax incentive, a development incentive certificate for the construction of the specific stadium, to finance the stadium. Town hall promised a tax incentive of €132.3 million, but so far only €119.7 million have been released, to the dismay of Corinthians.
“I recall that the city promised from the start DICs of €132.3 million, then promised to fulfill that after the World Cup, but so far they have not given it to us,” commented Corinthians president Roberto de Andrade. Corinthians is now urging the city via private and public channels to make up on its promise.
As of July the club will have to pay €1.6 million monthly to BNDES bank, who loaned €126 million for the stadium’s construction. The amount is set to rise in 2016.
Corinthians is seeking to partially pay off the stadium through income generated by a naming rights agreement. Former president Andres Sanchez is in charge of the negotiations to find a suitable candidate but, to date, Corinthians have been unable to close a deal.
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