Substitute of the Castelão should reopen on 21 April

With only the completion of the changing rooms and the installation of the electronic scoreboards remaining, the Presidente Vargas Stadium (PV), which shall replace the Castelão during the construction work for the 2014 FIFA World Cup™, is still closed for official competitions in Fortaleza.

According to the Municipal Secretary for Sports, Evaldo Lima, the statements made by the Military Police, the Fire Brigade and the Regional Engineering Council of the State of Ceará (Crea) are already being prepared.  “The opinion statements shall be presented to the Prosecution Office later this week”.

The State Prosecution Office has recommended that the Ceará Football Federation (Federação Cearense de Futebol – FCF) should reopen the PV only when the technical statements are complete. The structural statements made by the City Hall and by CREA already partly clear the stadium.

The changing rooms for players and officials are almost finished. The City Hall, however, refuses to officially announce the date of reopening the stadium. Behind the scenes, it is estimated that on 21 April the PV shall be opening its gates once again. This shall be the date of the clash between Ceará SC and Grêmio Prudente, in the round of 16 of the Brazil Cup.

“We want to hand over this stadium so that it may be used in the finals of the Ceará State Championship and also in the Brazil Cup”, said Mr. Lima.
The completion of the Presidente Vargas stadium was first scheduled for last December, but a spate of delays in the construction work pushed the date of reopening on to April.

Press Boxes
Due to the need to have games held in Fortaleza after the closure of the Castelão for refurbishment on 31 March, the Presidente Vargas shall be opened with a temporary Press Box.

This space has been erected in front of the work on the permanent grandstands, on part of the stands. The forecast is that the permanent Press Boxes shall be ready by the end of May, according to the Secretary of Regional IV, Estevão Romcy, responsible for the management of the PV.

The Vice-President of the Professional Association of Sports Broadcasters of the State of Ceará (Associação Profissional dos Cronistas Desportivos do Estado do Ceará - APCDEC), Alano Maia, was present at the visit to check out the press boxes. He said that, for security reasons, the ideal situation would be that of only opening the stadium when the definite structure is ready.

Until reopening, the PV shall need to comply with several requirements in order to receive the five statements that are necessary for the stadium to once again welcome supporters and matches.