Operations

Palmeiras, Real Arenas bring end to Allianz Parque dispute

Featured image credit: Palmeiras

Campeonato Brasileiro Série A football club Palmeiras has announced an agreement to end a long-running dispute with Real Arenas, operator of its Allianz Parque stadium.

Partners for 10 years, the two sides have been at loggerheads for a number of years, chiefly over payments the São Paulo club is owed through their agreement. Under the terms of the contract, Palmeiras is entitled to monthly percentages of revenue generated from the rental of the stadium for events, the usage of various areas of the stadium and the naming rights deal with Allianz.

Palmeiras claimed it only received these payments, which increase incrementally over the 30-year contract, for seven months – November and December 2014, and from January to June 2015, excluding May of that year.

This led the club to head to the courts over the matter, with Globo Esporte reporting that it was seeking settlement of a debt it claimed to be R$160m (£21.94m/€26.24m/$28.68m). Real Arenas, a division of Brazilian construction group WTorre, disputed this figure but is said to have restarted payments at the beginning of this year with an eye towards resolving the matter.

Palmeiras has now announced a “broad agreement” has been reached that puts an end to disputes in arbitration and judicial forums and “opens new perspectives for an even more professional and victorious partnership for the benefit of Palmeiras fans”. The club said both parties made concessions, as well as commercial and operational adjustments.

Palmeiras said the balance of the financial agreement totals R$117.1m, with R$50.1m paid upfront to the club, in addition to the transfer of stadium properties and the implementation of the Novo Setor Gol Norte, which will increase the capacity of Allianz Parque by around 1,000 seats on match days.

With the contract due to run until 2044, a club statement said the two parties remain jointly committed to ensuring that Allianz Parque remains one of the leading stadia in Latin America. “This is a special moment for all of us Palmeiras fans,” said club president, Leila Pereira.

“After 10 years of discussions, our management has reached a fair agreement that is beneficial to all and essential for the future of this partnership, which has another 20 years ahead. Our commitment is to build an increasingly successful Palmeiras and, to achieve this, we want to work hand in hand with WTorre.”

Sílvia Torre, co-founder and president of the board of WTorre, added: “As we complete a decade of Allianz Parque, we could not have a more important achievement than the agreement with Palmeiras.

“The country’s most successful club and the continent’s main multi-purpose stadium can, and should, achieve new goals together, in a scenario of harmony and aligned interests. We have a lot of work to do together with Palmeiras over the next two decades of the concession.”