Kassab and Goldman told organising committee president Ricardo Teixeira they support the idea of staging the World Cup opener at Sport Club Corinthians Paulista’s new ground, expected to start construction next year. However, both the mayor and the governor stressed they will not provide the necessary 180 million Brazilian reais ($105 million) to upgrade the original project from 48,000 seats to 60,000 so that the venue can meet FIFA’s criteria for the opening match.
The construction costs of R$ 350 million will be covered by Brazilian building company Odebrecht, which in turn will have the stadium’s naming rights.
Sao Paulo FC’s 70,000-seat Morumbi stadium was the first alternative, but the club failed to provide financial guarantees for the required renovation works, leaving the largest city in Brazil without a venue for the World Cup.
