SÃO PAULO, BRAZIL – The Canindé stadium in São Paulo has mainly been used in recent months for games, shows, and parties. The last time the Portuguesa Club football team played on its home ground was in August, when it was eliminated in the first round of the Paulista Cup. Non-football events and an issue with the water pump caused the lawn to “disappear” – what was green is now brown.
Canindé will host the Junior Soccer Cup in January. Therefore, the São Paulo Soccer Federation (FPF) inspected the stadium and approved the lawn restoration plan. Starting next week, Portuguesa will begin irrigation and, if necessary, replanting at some points. In addition to the basic competition, the club will compete in the A2 Series of the Paulista Championship starting in January. The club plans to play all their games at Canindé.
Portuguesa itself has only survived bankruptcy by leasing Canindé for events — the club has approximately R$350 million (US$88 million) in debts and has had its accounts frozen by courts. As a result, the club is negotiating with the companies that use the space to pay in cash. Club employees’ salaries are one month late.
Canindé is constantly sought after to host concerts. Last Saturday, for instance, American singer Akon performed at the stadium. There are events scheduled until the end of this year, which will not harm the rehabilitation work on the field, according to the club.
Companies leasing Canindé are required to install a temporary floor that enables ventilation of the lawn. It is installed on the eve of the event and removed the next day. The club claims that the main issue for the lawn degradation was the fact that the water pump burned and took a long time to be repaired.
As a result of the 500 or so lawsuits faced by Portuguesa in court, Canindé has already been offered at court auctions several times, but it has not attracted any bidders.
Source: Estadão Conteúdo