Panel SA: Caixa barra Flamengo stadium

Flamengo’s dream of having a stadium to rival Maracanã is increasingly distant. The plan, packaged by the president of the club, Rodolfo Landim, had the help of president Jair Bolsonaro, who asked Caixa president Daniella Marques to make the project viable.

But, according to people involved in the analysis of the economic and financial conditions of the enterprise, the risk is too high and, so far, the bank’s internal recommendation is to leave the matter as it is: stopped.

Landim, who was even considered to assume the presidency of Petrobras, wanted to build the stadium on land that today belongs to a real estate fund managed by Caixa.

What was being evaluated so far was the exchange of this land for another to be ceded by the Army as a way of unlocking the project.

The friendly relationship between Landim and Bolsonaro led the president to try to find a way out of this impasse, according to those involved in the operation.

The change of land, however, was not even the main obstacle. To take the business forward, Caixa asked Flamengo for a financial viability project, because part of the project involved bank financing that would be backed by revenues from games in the new stadium, events and broadcasting rights. All this did not stop standing, still according to the technicians involved in the analysis.

Recently, Landim tried with the City of Rio for another area in the Olympic Park region, in the west zone. But Mayor Eduardo Paes warned that the area is private.

Queried directly, the mayor of Rio, Eduardo Paes, and the president of Caixa, Daniella Marques, did not respond.

Through its advisory, the city hall stated that it “continues to be available to Flamengo to help” in whatever “is within its competence”.

Caixa, also via advisory, said it continues to evaluate the deal.

Flamengo reported that the operation is private and therefore declined to comment.

Julio Wiziack (i.e.interim) with Paulo Ricardo Martins and Diego Felix