SoccerGrass, the company that supplies the flooring for the Allianz Parque pitch, claims that it made a million-dollar loss last week after a raid on its warehouse.
A large quantity of synthetic grass was stolen in the early hours of last Monday (23), according to the company. The market value of the approximately 8,000 m² of material is around R$1.3 million. The amount is practically the size of the Palmeiras stadium field.
The thieves used three trucks to break into the warehouse located in the south of São Paulo, and the crime lasted four hours. The grass would be installed at the Legado CT of FIFA (International Football Federation) in Balneário Camboriú, Santa Catarina.
A police report was registered, but, so far, there has been no major progress in the investigations, either by the police or internally at the company. The firm had access to security footage from the street, but has no monitoring inside the factory.
SoccerGrass says it will offer a bonus to anyone who has a clue as to the grass’s whereabouts. The company understands that criminals know who to sell to and have carefully calculated the plan.
In the security camera images, the calmness of the men entering and leaving the warehouse draws attention. They open the gate and park the truck very calmly.
The company was formed 30 years ago and has never dealt with a situation like this. There was no insurance for the material.
“The loss is around R$ 1.3 million. To import, it takes around 90 days, not counting the dollar which keeps rising. We have never been through a situation even close to this in 30 years”, said Alessandro Oliveira, president of SoccerGrass.
