Brazil spent billions of dollars renovating and building World Cup stadiums that were "supposed to help modernize and improve" local football, according to the AP. Almost a year after the tournament ended, the nation is "still trying to figure out what to do with them." Some of the 12 new state-of-the-art stadiums are "just now being completed as originally planned." Others are already up for sale. The Arena Corinthians has only now been completed, nearly 11 months after the tournament. Attendance has "risen significantly at the stadium," which is owned by Brasileiro side Corinthians, but the club is "using the revenue to pay for the construction." A year after the team "handed over the stadium to FIFA for the World Cup, it still does not have a deal for naming rights." Brazilian sports marketing firm Sportlink Dir João Henrique Areias said, "There are a lot of ways to make money from these stadiums but you have to work hard to make it happen; it’s not automatic." Brazil spent about $3B on the World Cup stadiums and said that the new arenas "would become a legacy for the country." Most were turned over to private operators who are now "struggling to profit" from football. Some have "resorted to children's events, corporate gatherings and religious services to increase revenue." The stadium that has profited the most this year in Brazil is Brasileiro side Palmeiras' Allianz Parque, which "was not built for the World Cup." There "were no financial incentives from the government to help build the arena," in contrast to arrangements for the World Cup stadiums. Palmeiras "keeps all the money from attendance" at matches, while WTorre, which built and paid for the Arena Corinthians, "receives most of the revenue from concerts and other events over 30 years" (AP, 5/2).
