The government of São Paulo signed on Monday (16) the contract to renovate the Ícaro de Castro Mello stadium, the main athletics venue in the state and part of the Ibirapuera sports complex.
The amount contracted with the Ibirapuera Olympic Stadium Consortium is R$63.7 million, defined by bidding, but the total cost of the work for the State will be R$70 million, including the costs of the project and monitoring of the work.
The money will come from the Sports Department, but the work is under the responsibility of CDHU (Urban Housing Development Company), which signed the contract with the consortium.
As shown by Sheetthe group is headed by the Bahian company OCC Construções, a company that recently participated in the renovation of Mangueirão, in Belém, another iconic stadium of Brazilian athletics.
Also participating in the consortium are Saeid Engenharia, Playpiso, which specializes in sports flooring and is expected to supply the running track, and Kango Brasil, one of the leaders in the market for seats for gyms and stadiums.
The contract is valid for 19 months, but the work can only begin after approval from Iphan (Institute of National Historical and Artistic Heritage (Iphan), which in November approved the definitive listing of the entire Constâncio Vaz Guimarães Sports Complex, which includes Ícaro de Castro Mello – which, in the tender for the work, is unusually called the “Olympic stadium”.
Any architectural intervention at Ícaro, at the Geraldo José de Almeida Sports Gymnasium, known as the “Ibirapuera gymnasium”, at the Caio Pompeu Toledo Aquatic Complex, by architect Nestor Lindenberg, at the Mauro Pinheiro Poliesportive Gymnasium, attached to the stadium, must be approved by Iphan.
The stadium renovation project, however, does not foresee significant architectural changes, but structural improvements. It also includes a new lighting system, 11,000 seats and a nine-lane running track that meets the requirements for maximum World Athletics certification.
The renovation of the site could become an asset, however, in the dispute that São Paulo is fighting with the Rio de Janeiro/Niterói double for Brazil’s candidacy for the 2031 Pan-American Games. The capital of São Paulo was the first to present itself, due to city hall moves, while Rio and Niterói launched their candidacy this month. The decision will be made by the assembly of the Brazilian Olympic Committee (COB), which should deliberate on it in January.
Last week, governor Tarcísio de Freitas (Republicans) announced the beginning of the process for the construction of a velodrome at the Brazilian Paralympic Training Center, equipment that today the city of São Paulo does not have — the Ícaro de Castro Mello stadium itself in In the past, there was a track for cycling, which does not have official measurements.
The work is also linked to CDHU, contracted by the State Secretariat for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities to prepare the basic and executive projects, for R$4 million.
