The stadium, which will be built by Odebrecht, will cost US$522 million after initial estimates of up to $1.2 billion. Sao Paulo is the biggest city in Brazil, but would be likely to be stripped as a host city for the event without a new home for Corinthians. Brazil's national development bank, BNDES, has pledged $400 million and the city of Sao Paulo will commit a property fund worth $400 million in a bid to ensure the project is completed on time.
"This approval is the result of efforts by the government of Sao Paulo, particularly Governor Geraldo Alckmin and Mayor Gilberto Kassab," said 2014 World Cup local organising committee president Ricardo Teixeira on Corinthians' website.
Sao Paulo is up against Salvador and Belo Horizonte for the right to stage the opening ceremony and FIFA will announce the venue for the occasion in October. Rio de Janeiro's Maracana, which is also undergoing a major revamp ahead of the tournament, will host the final.
According to Bloomberg, Corinthians president Andres Sanchez added: "I said before that if Corinthians could fulfil all the requirements of FIFA, the opening of the World Cup would be in Sao Paulo. Corinthians gave the guarantees required by FIFA, so the opening will be in Sao Paulo."
