Find out what's needed for Corinthians to change Arena parking operator | OneFootball

Indigo is about to stop managing the parking operation at Neo Química Arena. Corinthians has already chosen a new company to run the site and is close to finalizing the deal, with only one obstacle left before the change can take place.

As reported by Gazeta Esportiva at the beginning of August, the club’s board, led by Osmar Stabile, dissatisfied with the terms of the contract with Indigo, launched a kind of “tender” to seek interested parties to take over the operation. In other words, the club went to the market and opened a competitive, open, and wide-ranging process, where companies submitted their bids.

(Photo: José Manoel Idalgo/Corinthians)

In total, Corinthians received six sealed bids. Among them, two from companies that had already made offers during Augusto Melo’s administration, and one from Indigo itself, interested in restarting the partnership. The envelopes were opened in the presence of board members, compliance, Arena management, and the club’s Finance Department, so that none could be altered later.

The club then began compiling data and evaluating the details of each proposal, such as signing bonuses, variable revenue, contract duration, the company’s expertise and market solidity, as well as the termination fee and the operating model. After a long period of analysis, Osmar Stabile has already made a decision.

The name of the chosen company is still being kept confidential. According to information obtained by the report, the board already has everything lined up to make the change official, with only one last hurdle to overcome.

What’s missing?

Before confirming the hiring of the new company, Corinthians needs to terminate the current partnership with Indigo, which has managed the Neo Química Arena parking lot since 2018.

To break the contract, the club would have to pay a penalty of approximately R$ 11 million. However, there is a disagreement. That’s because the company believes the amount is higher, around R$ 20 million. The parties are negotiating the best way to end the contract.

Corinthians’ Conditions

In this kind of “tender,” Corinthians set minimum conditions for considering any proposal. The club intends to receive at least R$ 20 million over a 10-year period.

In addition, the club demands at least 30% of the revenue that the contracted company earns. For this, the board is developing a revenue control system for the company responsible for the operation, precisely to closely monitor how much and how the company will collect periodically.

Finally, Corinthians also requires fixed parking spots for games and club events at the Arena, as well as participation in other ceremonies hosted at Neo Química Arena, such as musical performances, which in some cases take place exclusively in the parking lot.

Harmful contract?

Members of the current Corinthians board believe that the contract with Indigo is harmful to the club. The agreement for the company to take over management of the Neo Química Arena parking lot was signed in May 2018, during the Andrés Sanchez administration.

At the time, the club received R$ 11.4 million. Of this amount, R$ 2.5 million went to Omni, the former operator of the site, and R$ 8.9 million to the Arena Fund, paid in two installments.

The contract stipulates that the company cannot be removed for a period of 120 months and that the agreement cannot be terminated for just cause under any circumstances. The contract would only allow for termination ten years after the initial term, if there was an automatic extension, provided Corinthians gave 30 days’ notice.

Additionally, Indigo was exempt from paying rent whenever the annual net revenue was equal to or less than R$ 4.8 million, a figure that was adjusted over the years. As a result, even while using club property, the company never paid any monthly fee to Corinthians.

The contract became the target of criticism from fans and ousted president Augusto Melo, who even promised to investigate it through an audit conducted by Ernst & Young, one of the world’s largest firms in the field, hired at the start of his administration to “clean up Corinthians.”

The results of the investigations, however, were never officially released. As Gazeta Esportiva reported in March this year, all the information found was presented to the club’s board, which at the time decided not to pay for E&Y’s service and, consequently, by contractual force, did not receive copies of the reports on each contract reviewed, which would include the company’s opinion.

Earlier this week, the current Corinthians board, having settled the debt with E&Y, held a meeting with members of the consulting firm for the presentation of the report. In a statement, the club said the document “corroborates the club’s financial situation without presenting any new facts that the board is not already addressing.”

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