Why Corinthians agreed to play at Vila Belmiro, here’s the reason | OneFootball

The Corinthians made an agreement with Santos to use Vila Belmiro for the team's debut in the Brazilian Championship against Bahia. In return, Timão lent the Neo Química Arena to Peixe for the match against Red Bull Bragantino next Sunday, for the fifth round of the Paulistão.

The agreement was proposed by Corinthians. The club was bothered by the fact that Flamengo had one more day of rest between the first round of the Brasileirão and the Supercopa do Brasil. The Rubro-Negro would play against São Paulo on January 28, while Timão would host Bahia the following day.

The alvinegra board questioned the CBF, but the entity explained that there was no other alternative. The Military Police does not allow games of teams from the same state on the same day.

Corinthians suggested that the match be played outside the capital of São Paulo and obtained approval from the CBF. The board began looking for options and chose Vila Belmiro.

(Photo: Pedro Ernesto Guerra Azevedo/Santos FC)

Why Vila?

According to Gazeta Esportiva, Timão prioritized stadiums closest to São Paulo to avoid increasing wear and tear due to travel. The club considered the Bragantino stadium but found Cícero de Souza Marques to be ‘small’. The venue has a capacity of 12,000 people.

Vila Belmiro was seen by Corinthians as a better alternative. President Osmar Stabile made the proposal to Marcelo Teixeira, president of Santos, who promptly accepted.

The terms of the deal

Corinthians will pay Santos a rent of approximately R$ 350,000 to use Vila Belmiro and will cover the stadium's operational costs. In return, the club will keep all the profits from ticket sales.

The match against Bahia is scheduled for the next January 28, at 7:30 PM (Brasília time), three days before the Supercopa do Brasil.

The same applies to Santos, which will need to pay around R$ 800,000 to host the match at the Neo Química Arena. The duel with Red Bull Bragantino will be next Sunday at 4 PM.

This will be the second time Peixe uses the rival's stadium. The club also played as the host at the venue in 2024, against the same Bragantino, in the semifinal of that year's Campeonato Paulista.

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