Featured image credit: Portal da Copa/CC BY 3.0 BR/Edited for size
Manaus’ Arena da Amazônia, which hosted matches during the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, has had its power cut off after a failure to pay electricity bills owed to Amazonas Energia.
A statement by the energy company claims that Arena da Amazônia and Arena Amadeu Teixeira, which is also in Manaus, have debts exceeding R$39m (£6.2m/€7m/$7.7m), dating back to 2016.
Amazonas Energia has cut off consumer units at the two venues following “two successive attempts at friendly negotiations and with prior notification”. The company said that the units were considered non-essential services and therefore subject to cuts under the law.
The Arena da Amazônia has a capacity of 44,000 and hosted four matches at the 2014 World Cup, including England v Italy and USA v Portugal. The stadium was also used to stage football matches during the Rio de Janeiro Olympics two years later.
The nearby Arena Amadeu Teixeira hosts futsal and volleyball events and has a capacity of 11,800.
The Fundação Amazonas de Alto Rendimento, which operates the two venues, has not yet commented on Amazonas Energia’s statement.
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