Atlético-MG prepares to have a new arena after a historic year

Alongside the good moment on the field, Atlético-MG fans live the expectation of stepping into their own stadium in the California neighborhood, approximately 11 km from the central area of ​​Belo Horizonte.

The construction of the MRV Arena is expected to be completed by the fourth quarter of 2022, probably in October, and opened in 2023.

The board makes plans to leverage its revenue with matchday (sum of box office receipts, fan partner, box office sales and sale of club products, food and beverages), in addition to rentals for corporate events and cultural attractions.

“The multipurpose arena will guarantee the club R$ 100 million more and will help us to achieve the goal of achieving an annual revenue of R$ 500 million by 2026”, projects Atlético’s CEO, Plínio Signorini.

Historically, with a good audience average, the team plays at the Mineirão or the Independência stadium, both under the responsibility of the Minas Gerais government and transferred to the private administration.

On a plot of 128 thousand square meters, the future address will have a capacity for 50 thousand people, with 18 access gates and parking with more than 2,300 spaces. The engineering team responsible for the project visited all the arenas built for the World Cup in Brazil and others in countries like the United States, Germany, Spain, Italy and Portugal in search of ideas, architectural inspiration and technological innovations.

An Atlético-MG museum, bars, restaurants and convenience stores should be built on site. “We have the ambition of being the most technological arena in Brazil”, says Bruno Muzzi, CEO of Arena MRV. “We think, since the conception of the architectural project, of a multipurpose equipment that helps the producer.”

As an example, Muzi cites four accesses to the field, each ten meters wide, which will allow the transit of a trailer without the risk of damaging the lawn and will speed up the process of assembling and disassembling the stage and other structures of an event.

“The estimate is that revenue from cultural and business events alone is approximately R$ 40 million per year,” he says.

Differently from the model established between Palmeiras and WTorre for the viability of Allianz Parque, for example, Atlético-MG will be solely responsible for administration and will retain all of the stadium’s revenue. The construction company MRV only owns the naming rigths.

To acquire it, the company agrees to pay R$ 60 million for a ten-year contract — the period of the agreement will be calculated after the stadium receives a license to operate.

The work, with a cost of R$ 612 million, is under the responsibility of Racional Engenharia, headquartered in São Paulo, which won the bidding process against two other companies.

“It’s 100% of Atlético. The club owns the stadium. Arena MRV is an SPE [Sociedade de Propósito Específico] created to be responsible for the construction and operation of the stadium, but, although it is a different CNPJ, it is a company that belongs to the club”, says Muzzi.

As a comparison, in the contract established between Palmeiras and WTorre, the latter covered the works of the multipurpose arena and, in return, will have rights to explore the stadium economically for 30 years.

The company keeps revenues from naming rights, cabins and events, such as shows. She needs to transfer a portion of the amount obtained to Palmeiras — 5% of naming rights and cabins and 20% of the obtained in events.

Sometimes, due to shows at Allianz, Palmeiras was forced to look for another stadium to host their games. “The priority at Arena MRV will always be to host Atlético matches,” says Muzzi.

With liabilities of nearly R$1.2 billion, Atlético-MG relies in part on the commitment of patrons —among them the owner of MRV itself, Rubens Menin— to make the project viable, in addition to financial engineering, in which they are involved R$300 million related to the sale of 50.1% of the club’s shares in the Diamond Mall shopping mall.

The naming rights contract and the sale of captive chairs help to supplement the bill. At first, the BMG bank committed to transferring R$ 60 million to the club. In return, he would have the right to the captive chairs.

“BMG is a great partner of Atlético and guaranteed the purchase of captive chairs, if necessary. However, fortunately, the sale was a great success, we sold out two sectors, and it will not be necessary for the bank to buy this MRV Arena asset” , explained Muzzi.

The club has already raised R$ 152 million from sales of captive chairs, which soared amid the good phase of the champion team of the Brazilian Nationals and the Copa do Brasil. 777 units were sold in November (an average of 26 per day) and, in the first week of December alone, 461 (66 per day).

Two of the three sectors were sold out, in the amounts of R$45.9 million and R$35.9 thousand. Parking is still being sold, in which the user pays R$35 thousand and is entitled to a covered parking space for 15 years, and the alvinegro mural. In the latter, fans spend between R$400 and R$500 to have their name personalized on the tile in the stadium. All this money, according to the club, is used to pay for the work.

Although the stadium is expected to be ready in the fourth quarter of 2022, the inauguration is only scheduled for May 19, 2023. Atlético should receive a team from abroad, probably from European football. Paris Saint-Germain is the target of the moment. On that day, singer Nando Reis should perform as a tribute to singer and athletic supporter Cássia Eller.

The board has prepared a calendar of attractions, which will begin on March 25, 2023 (when the club will complete 115 years of existence) with the installation of the goalposts, the first shot on goal and the presentation of a symphony orchestra. In April, it will receive electronic music shows. On May 27th, there will be a festival with the presence of artists such as Ivete Sangalo, Jota Quest and the duo César Menotti and Fabiano.