Mônica Bergamo: Public Prosecutor’s Office is sued against the sale of Pacaembu chairs

Councilman Celso Giannazi (PSOL) sued the São Paulo Public Ministry and the São Paulo Municipal Court of Auditors against the sale of original chairs from the Pacaembu stadium, in the capital, by a furniture and decoration store.

The seats, which belonged to the stadium’s orange grandstand, are available for purchase at the Tok&Stok store for prices ranging from R$1,499 to R$1,799. According to the parliamentarian, however, there are indications of illegality in practice.

“This is a high financial and historical value taken from the treasury, without any contractual provision that intended it for this purpose or bidding that could revert this value to other organizations or companies”, says Giannazi in his representations.

The PSOL councilor asks that both Allegra, the current administrator of the stadium, and the São Paulo City Hall be summoned to provide clarifications by the Public Ministry and the Court of Auditors.

On Wednesday (28), the Municipal Sports Department stated in a note that there is no legal or contractual restriction on sales.

Sought, Allegra says that it is a socio-environmental initiative with the objective of “praising the history of football in the city of São Paulo”. The dealership also claims that the limited edition offered for sale prevented the material from being “discarded as rubble”.

“We believe that it is correct and appropriate to reuse part of the chairs, avoiding their disposal and giving them a new purpose. Finally, we reiterate that there is no legal or contractual restriction on the initiative”, he says in a note.

Opened in the 1940s and granted to the private sector in 2019, Pacaembu is listed by state and municipal preservation agencies. Despite the recognition, the architectural ensemble has been undergoing works that have already resulted in the demolition of the sector known as the “toboggan” and part of its stands.

According to Allegra, the project for intervention, restoration and construction of new buildings in the space was approved by the councils for the preservation of historical heritage, as well as the intervention in the stands.

“It is also worth mentioning that the seats used in the initiative are not original items, having been implanted in the 90s in part of the stands of the stadium”, says the company.

_{with BIANKA VIEIRA, KARINA MATIAS and MANOELLA SMITH}