The economic group that already has the Pacaembu concession signed this Wednesday (22) a contract to also be the concessionaire of the main stronghold of floodplain football in the city of São Paulo, in Campo de Marte, in the north zone.
Five of the clubs that have had their fields there since the 1970s will now have “Fifa standard” spaces, some of them made of synthetic grass like Pacaembu, which will be built by the concessionaire to be managed by these associations. The company, however, will have the right to rent them to third parties for 50% of the time.
The group promises a “synergy” between Pacaembu and the floodplain fields. “When you have a stadium as relevant as Pacaembu within the management of an economic group, any other sports equipment that may be incorporated will be worked on so that all synergies are explored. We want other teams to also use this infrastructure. We could, for example, host games from the preliminary stages of the Copinha on these fields”, says Rafael Carneiro Bastos de Carvalho, director and partner of the two concessionaires — Allegra Pacaembu and Campo de Marte.
The new park comes three years after an agreement signed between mayor Ricardo Nunes (MDB) and then president Jair Bolsonaro (PL), in which the São Paulo City Council transferred part of the Campo de Marte land to the Union, including the airport, in exchange for paying off a historic debt of R$25 billion between the city and the Union.
The municipality was left with land measuring 406 thousand m², which currently has the six clubs, each with a football field and bar and barbecue facilities, a bocce ball court, a large green area and the parking lot where the floats are usually located after the Carnival parades, on Avenida Olavo Fontoura.
It is this area that was granted to the consortium led by Progen and which also includes the family that runs Camil, a food company, the only interested party in the notice closed in August, with an offer of R$308 thousand in fixed grant.
The company that signed the contract this Wednesday and was named Campo de Marte concessionaire, has six months to present its masterplan, the project of what it intends to do with the space. Among the obligations is to create a park with free access and sports equipment, and, within six months of taking over, the five community centers.
Each of them will be managed by a club, with a football pitch, administrative area, cafeteria and barbecue areas. The clubs are Esperança (founded in 1958), Baruel (1941), Paulista (1968), Sade (1953) and Pitangueira (1938). According to research by architect Fabio Farah Cavaton, they all had their fields elsewhere, were displaced and found a new home in Campo de Marte around the 1970s.
“The space on the fields will be the responsibility of the association. Everything will be our responsibility: security, employees, cleaning, water, electricity, etc.”, says Otacílio Ribeiro Filho, director of the Sociedade dos Clubes Mantenedores do Complexo.
The entity represents the five clubs and, according to the concession notice, needs to sign a contract with the concessionaire regulating this relationship. The clubs insist on continuing to use the courts on weekends, as has always been the case. Some teams from the north zone, even though they don’t have their headquarters there, have had fixed hours on the fields for decades. “We need them on the weekends to pay the bills”, says the club representative.
The concessionaire says it will still talk to the entities. The reference model used in the notice foresees at least R$4 million annually for the company in rental income from these fields.
“It would not make sense from the concessionaire’s or the association’s point of view for us to make any movement or negotiation before signing the contract. So now we are entering a transition phase. During this period all negotiations will be carried out, not just with association”, says Rafael Carvalho.
The company says that the exact location of the fields will still be studied, as well as which will have natural grass and which will be synthetic. Today the fields are literally floodplain and flood easily when it rains. “A major drainage project will be carried out so that the entire park is safe for the population to use during unexpected rains”, says the businessman.
The reference model also foresees a three-story building, in an area of 14 thousand m², with a gym, coworking, stores, gastronomic center and rooftop, which would be responsible for more than 80% of the dealership’s revenue.
The new concessionaire says it still doesn’t know exactly what will be built, but guarantees that the space will not be a shopping mall.
“There is no shopping mall inside Pacaembu and there will not be a shopping mall inside the Campo de Marte park. The commercial areas and local areas that will be created are incidental to the allocation of equipment. When the market plan is presented, it will be clear which ones will be the commercial areas and which new sports areas will be implemented”, says Carvalho.
