Ex-Flamengo president Bandeira de Melo hits out again over stadium build | OneFootball

Flamengo acquired the Gasômetro land in Rio de Janeiro to build a stadium

Flamengo has owned the Gasômetro land for a little over two years, but has never started building the stadium. As a result, the club’s former president, Eduardo Bandeira de Melo, said the current management is right to slow the project down, as he is certain there is not enough space at the site for the Rubro-Negro’s home.

– I really don’t like this Gasômetro solution. I don’t like it… In that sense, the board is right: it needs to hit the brakes and regroup. First of all, I grew up with the Maracanã, right? -, Bandeira de Melo said, adding:

– But I understand that, because of all the political conditions that always come up, it will end up being very difficult for Flamengo to own the Maracanã or to be a concessionaire with a long enough term to allow us to increase the capacity, right? -, he said, and added:

– If it is in fact impossible and Flamengo has to move toward having its own home, I don’t like the Gasômetro solution, first of all because I think that plot of land is far too small, right? A stadium there would not fit a fanbase the size of Flamengo’s, right? -, he pointed out.

How much did Flamengo pay for the land?

Rodolfo Landim’s administration acquired the Gasômetro land on July 31, 2024, for R$ 138,195,000.00. The club was the only bidder in the auction held by Rio de Janeiro City Hall.

The former Mengão president’s plan was to have the stadium ready in 2029. However, Luiz Eduardo Baptista’s administration said there are no conditions to carry out the original idea. So, the stadium project is on stand by.

What other arguments did Bandeira de Melo make?

– Not to mention that the area there is not the most suitable for several reasons. That land has to go through a decontamination process. For a long time, it was a coal gas plant there, dating back to the 19th century -, said the former Rubro-Negro president, who added:

– Then it was turned into a naphtha gas plant, right? Later, when natural gas from the Campos Basin started to become available, it stopped being a plant and became a natural gas distribution station -, he warned.

– The gas pipeline that is there has to be relocated; all of that is costly, right? Then city hall may say, ‘no, leave it to me,’ but that is not what is written in the bid notice. What is written in the bid notice is that this is Flamengo’s responsibility -, he stressed.

– Not only that: the entire road system has to be adapted, right? That stadium would be there in the Port area, at the exit of Avenida Brasil and the Rio-Niterói Bridge, with enormous traffic. So you need to adapt the road system there, and then it will be necessary to build an underpass, a walkway, an overpass… And according to the bid notice, the one that has to do that is Flamengo -, he concluded.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.