Allianz Parque, the home of Campeonato Brasileiro Série A football club Palmeiras, will house what is claimed to be the largest sports-focused startup incubator in Latin America.
Occupying over 4,000 square metres of space in the northwest wing of the Sao Paulo stadium, Arena Hub is scheduled to open in the first half of 2020, bringing together hundreds of startups with the mission of developing innovative concepts to meet the challenges of the sports industry, generating high economic and social impact.
The project has been launched by the São Paulo State Government and the Paulista Football Federation (FPF), and built in conjunction with professional services firm EY and 2simple. Global startup platform WeWork Labs will design, manage and provide its expertise in bringing startups, entrepreneurs, and large companies together.
Arena Hub will have a focus on eight themes: fan engagement, human performance, spaces and smart devices, empowerment, business intelligence, esports, media and content, and the social impact of business. To this end, Arena Hub will work with startups at different stages of development offering assistance through various acceleration programs.
“Arena Hub aims to connect professionals, startups, entities, investors and large ecosystem companies to create, support and accelerate sport initiatives, companies, technologies and ideas to drive digital and social transformation,” said Marden Menezes, executive director of the project.
“Through the project, we will be able to provide connections between people and companies, encouraging good management practices and enabling the new generation of business.”
Arena Hub will be maintained through private sponsorship. Sponsors will be offered different levels of benefits through their association with the Hub, depending on how much they invest. Sponsors will benefit from the technology and innovation generated within the Hub and can use the startups to solve their internal problems.
Menezes added: “There will be no public investment. We believe that private initiative plays a major role in the process of transforming society, empowering industries and generating economic and social impact.”
Image: Allianz Parque
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