Brasileiro Side Corinthians Close To Naming Rights Deal To Ease Debt Pressure

Brasileiro side Corinthians is "closing in on a naming rights deal" for its stadium, but could maintain the name "Arena Corinthians," according to Samindra Kunti of INSIDE WORLD FOOTBALL. The club’s "state-of-the-art stadium" hosted six games during the 2014 World Cup. But the bill for the stadium’s construction "bloated" from a provisional $356M to $513M. Ever since the World Cup, Corinthians has been "seeking to finance the stadium through increased gate revenue" and selling the naming rights of the stadium, "but that aim has proven difficult to achieve." Former club President Andres Sanchez said, "Barcelona, Real Madrid and Manchester United get a lot of money through gambling and betting. If we do that here, we’d get arrested, it’s forbidden. ... The agreement on naming rights is close to conclusion." He did not "disclose the precise details of a supposed agreement," but spoke of it as "innovative" and said that it "needs to be copied by other Brazilian clubs" (INSIDE WORLD FOOTBALL, 5/18).