The São Paulo state government "gave up on financing mobile bleachers in Itaquerão," the new Corinthians stadium that is set to host the opening game of the 2014 World Cup, according to UOL.com.br. The club will now have to "search the market for a private sponsor" that will provide the R$70M ($34.5M) necessary to guarantee a stadium capacity of 68,000. The news is "an important change in the financial planning of the stadium." The original support of the São Paulo state government "was fundamental" in the 2014 World Cup Organizing Committee approving the Itaquerão. Withtout the mobile bleachers, the stadium will not "reach the capacity demanded by FIFA" for an opening World Cup match (UOL.com.br, 9/26). However, UOL.com.br's Gustavo Franceschini reported that the São Paulo state government denied reports it would not finance mobile bleachers for the new Corinthians stadium. The government released the following statement: "The São Paulo government agreed to fund the temporary bleachers for the opening match and is studying various alternatives to resolve the issue. The value of the investment has yet to be defined." The government does not agree with the R$70M price tag that construction company Odebrecht has foretasted for the project (UOL.com.br, 9/26).
DONE DEAL: PORTAL2014.org.br reported the purchase of 75,000 seats for the Estádio Nacional da Brasília Mané Garrincha was completed on Tuesday and will cost R$10.8M ($5.3M). Desk Móveis will supply the seats for General Admission, Hospitality, VIP and VVIP. The seat models will be the same as those used at Wimbledon, Dallas Cowboys stadium and Donbass Arena (PORTAL2014.org.br, 9/25).
