The name Pacaembu became a detail in the visual communication of the new Mercado Livre Arena Pacaembu, as the São Paulo stadium is now called. The plaques installed in the arena, however, did not receive the necessary approval from the Municipal Council for the Preservation of Historic Heritage (Conpresp).
The council is responsible for authorizing the renovation of the sports complex, a listed asset, which was done in March. Among the 11 guidelines established, the last of them said that the consortium should complete the project with the delivery of signage notebooks, which would also need to be approved by the body. Not only did this not happen, but the installed plaques significantly changed the name of Pacaembu.
When contacted, Allegra Pacaembu told Sheet that “the signs are indicative, not advertising” and “do not present any applicable interference with the approval of municipal bodies, in addition to those already obtained”. The city hall stated that “if any irregularity is found, the establishment will be notified to remove the information from the location.”
In September, Rafael Carvalho, one of the concessionaire’s partners, sent an email to Conpresp informing “small nomenclature adjustments” in the project, after formalizing a naming rights contract with Mercado Livre, in January. The initial project, from February, only used the name “Pacaembu Stadium” on the signs.
The following day, architect Jorge Ricca Junior, from the City Hall’s Historical Heritage Department, issued an opinion suggesting approval of the project, which was included on the Conpresp meeting agenda in December, when a request for views was made.
Even without approval, Allegra installed signs in the stadium with the Mercado Livre Arena Pacaembu brand, as Rede Globo showed on Monday (13).
A day later, the Sé subprefecture initiated administrative proceedings to investigate the case. Photographs show that, on a single sign, the name “Mercado Livre” appears seven times.
First, in the logo, which has the name of the e-commerce company highlighted, “Arena” in a similar sized font, and “Pacaembu” in small letters. The name of the stadium appears as prominently as the Spanish and English translations for each sector, such as “Piscina Olímpica Mercado Livre” and “Centro de Tênis Mercado Livre”.
The stadium’s concession contract to Allegra requires the company to “maintain the name ‘Estadio Paulo Machado de Carvalho’ and its nickname ‘Pacaembu’ in the name of the complex”, but does not deal with naming rights. The possibility of selling the name appears in the Reference Business Plan, attached to the contract.
HAS Sheet the concessionaire said that the signaling project was “discussed and approved by the technical staff of DPH/Conpresp and UPPH/Condephaat” and that it follows the guidelines of the Concession Agreement and applicable legislation.
“The signs are indicative, not advertising. They are referenced to the correct nomenclature and do not present any applicable interference with the approval of municipal bodies, in addition to those already obtained”, commented Allegra.
The concessionaire intends to officially reopen the stadium on the 25th, in the Copinha final. The company has already held test events, one of which, in December, was suspended due to the stadium being flooded. Allegra held the city council responsible for debris that blocked the rainwater pipe, causing the incident.
