Allianz Parque

Sisbrace
Location	200 Rua Palestra Itália Água Branca Barra Funda São Paulo State of São Paulo Brazil
Coordinates	23°31′39″S 46°40′43″W / 23.5275°S 46.6785°W / -23.5275; -46.6785
Public transit	Palmeiras–Barra Funda
Owner	Palmeiras
Operator	WTorre Properties
Executive suites	188
Capacity	43,713 (football)[3] 12,000 (amphitheater)[4] 55,000 (concerts)[5]
Record attendance	Football: 41,457 (Palmeiras 2–1 Corinthians, 29 April 2023) Concert: 50,000 Taylor Swift, The Eras Tour, 26 November 2023[1]
Field size	105 by 68 metres (114.8 yd × 74.4 yd)
Surface	GreenFields MX Elite 50 Artificial Turf[2]
Construction
Broke ground	November 2010
Built	2010–2014
Opened	19 November 2014
Construction cost	R$ 630 million US$ 203 million EU€ 181 million
Architect	Tomás Taveira, Edo Rocha
Project manager	WTorre
Structural engineer	WTorre
Tenants
Palmeiras (2014–present)

Allianz Parque (Brazilian Portuguese: [ˈaljɐ̃s ˈpaʁki] ^ⓘ), also known as Arena Palmeiras or as Arena Palestra Itália, is a football stadium in Água Branca, São Paulo, Brazil, and the home of Palmeiras. The stadium also serves as a multipurpose arena, and was built to receive concerts and other events besides football matches. The stadium has a capacity of 43,713 spectators for football, and of 55,000 for concerts. At the time of its opening, the stadium had one of the most modern multipurpose spaces in the whole country. The stadium meets all of FIFA's standards, accrediting it to receive the most relevant sports tournaments.

Its construction started in 2010 under the authorship of Portuguese architect Tomás Taveira, and completed in November 2014. The stadium was built by the company WTorre Properties/Arenas, belonging to WTorre Group. The stadium is located on the site previously occupied by Palestra Itália Stadium, also popularly known as Parque Antárctica, Palmeiras's former home ground.

Location

The stadium is located in the Água Branca neighborhood, within the Barra Funda district, but sits in an intersection region between the neighbourhoods of Água Branca (where it is properly located), Barra Funda, Pompeia and Perdizes, in the west zone of the city of São Paulo. Near the stadium, there is the Palmeiras–Barra Funda Metro Station at 1.5 km of distance, the Água Branca Metropolitan Train Station and several bus lines, totaling 50 different routes.

For drivers, parking service is adjacent to the Allianz Parque, with capacity for 2,000 cars, plus 4,800 parking spaces in two malls located nearby. The complex is situated only 4 km from Paulista Avenue and 5 km from Central Zone of São Paulo. Besides, there are 9 5-star hotels in a radius of 6 km, more than 8,000 hospitalar beds at a distance of 5 km, apart from Congonhas Airport and Guarulhos Airport, at 13 and 30 km of distance, respectively.

History

Background

Agreement

The transformation of the former Palestra Italia Stadium in arena is the result of an agreement signed between Palmeiras and the company WTorre Properties/Arenas, belonging to WTorre Group. WTorre will manage the site for 30 years, and Palmeiras will profit 100% with the ticket sales at football matches.

According to the agreement between Palmeiras and WTorre, all expenses for the use of the arena, such as water, electricity, security, cleaning, insurance, lawn maintenance, shall be borne by the entrepreneur.

WTorre will hire a specialized company to manage the complex, passing onto Palmeiras an increasing percentage of the revenue with sponsorships, box seats and shows amongst others, starting on the first day of the complex's operation. At the end of this 30-year period, Palmeiras will integrate the whole enterprise, putting an end to the deal with company.^[6]

Partnerships

On September 30, 2009, WTorre completed the partnership with Traffic Group for marketing properties of the arena, such as the naming rights, cabins, special chairs, restaurants, cafés and shops, among others. The sports media company will market the spaces used in sporting, musical, social and corporate events.^[7][8]

On October 6, 2011, Palmeiras and WTorre announced the agreement with Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG),^[9] to manage events in the arena. In turn, AEG made a partnership with Blue Box Company, that will provide consulting services to the US company of the best services in the Brazilian territory.^[10]

On April 24, 2013, WTorre announced the naming rights agreement with the Allianz company, which holds the rights to name six other sporting arenas: the Allianz Arena in Germany, the Allianz Stadium in Australia; Allianz Park in England; Allianz Riviera, in France; Allianz Stadion, in Austria and Allianz Field, in the United States. The agreement with the insurance company is valid for 20 years, with an option to renew for another 10 at the end of the period. The deal is estimated at R$300 million.^[11]

On April 29, 2013, Allianz announced three name options for the arena: Allianz Parque, Allianz Center and Allianz 360º.^[12] On June 6, 2013, with 89% of over 620 thousand votes registered on the official website of the enterprise, the name "Allianz Parque" was announced. The other two options had 7% and 4% of the votes, respectively.

On March 13, 2014, WTorre and AEG announced the agreement with the Gourmet Sports Hospitality company, belonging to Kofler & Kompanie (K&K) Group, from Germany. The agreement provides chef services on game days and buffets for corporate events, conferences, concerts and other events that occur on site. In the stadium there is a central kitchen of 1,500 m² and ten support kitchens, three lounges and 46 cafeterias and kiosks to serve the public on game days and corporate events. Up to 500 people can work in these places in a day with maximum capacity. The company was also responsible for serving the public during the 2006 FIFA World Cup, in Germany, 2010 FIFA World Cup, in South Africa, 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup, in Brazil, 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, and some stages of Formula One. The company's contract with WTorre is valid for 20 years.

The first official game at Allianz Parque was held on November 19, 2014, between Palmeiras and Sport Recife in the Brazilian Série A, when hosts Palmeiras lost to Sport Recife 0–2.

WTorre announced a partnership with Works Brazil Agency, a Works UK subsidiary, to perform the visual brand identity of the arena. In partnership with Allianz, the arena branding project was developed from its main logo. All communication elements associated with the brand "Allianz Parque", including banners, signboards, tickets, merchandising and other applications, were prepared for print and digital content. Similar projects have been developed by the company for corporations, national and international associations and international sports federations, such as IAAF, FIFA, FIVB, FIBA, FIH and NBA.^[13]

To organize events, from small conferences to large concerts, AEG hired Susan Darrington, former vice-president of the CenturyLink Field, largest stadium in Seattle, home field for the Seattle Seahawks and Seattle Sounders FC, for the position of general manager of the arena. Darrington will have primary responsibility for raising revenue for the Allianz Parque, with the initial goal of attracting about 300 events per year.^[14]

In 2019, Allianz partnered with sanctioned Chinese state-owned video surveillance company Dahua Technology.^[15]

Statistics

Reception

Palmeiras matches

Biggest attendances

Nº	Attendance	Home Team	Score	Visiting Team	Date	Competition
1	41,457	Palmeiras	2–1	Corinthians	April 29, 2023	2023 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A
2	41,451	Palmeiras	1–2	São Paulo	July 13, 2023	2023 Copa do Brasil
3	41,446	Palmeiras	2–0	Santos	April 7, 2024	2024 Campeonato Paulista
4	41,444	Palmeiras	4–0	Água Santa	April 9, 2023	2023 Campeonato Paulista
5	41,361	Palmeiras	2–1 (3-4 p)	São Paulo	July 14, 2022	2022 Copa do Brasil

Biggest grosses

Nº	Gross	Home Team	Score	Visiting Team	Date	Competition
1	R$15.118.391,02	Brazil	3–0	Chile	October 10, 2017	2018 FIFA World Cup qualification
2	R$6.737.030,00	Brazil	2–0	Mexico	June 7, 2015	International friendly
3	R$5.336.631,25	Palmeiras	2–1 (4-3 p)	Santos	December 2, 2015	2015 Copa do Brasil
4	R$5.244.701,37	Palmeiras	2–0	Santos	April 7, 2024	2024 Campeonato Paulista
5	R$4.974.909,22	Palmeiras	1–1 (2-4 p)	Boca Juniors	October 5, 2023	2023 Copa Libertadores

International sporting events

On June 7, 2015, the Arena hosted a friendly between Brazil and Mexico in order to prepare for the 2015 Copa América. The event was promoted by AEG Brazil in partnership with the British sports marketing agency Pitch International. The game ended 2–0 to Brazil, with goals from Philippe Coutinho and Diego Tardelli.^[16] It was the first game of the Brazilian team in the country since 2014 FIFA World Cup.

On August 8, 2015, the arena hosted the final of the League of Legends Brazilian Tournament, a Riot Games event. The winner competed with teams from Latin America and CIS for a place in the League of Legends World Championship. About 12,000 people attended the event, which was held in the amphitheater of the arena.^[17]

Musical events

International

The very first big event at the Arena was on November 25 and 26, 2014, when Paul McCartney performed and completed his tour Out There in Brazil. About 50,000 people attended both concerts. The hard rock band Guns N' Roses performed at the stadium during their Not in This Lifetime...Tour on November 4 and 5, 2016 for an audience of 93,600 people. Shakira performed there during her El Dorado World Tour on October 21, 2018. The South Korean group BTS performed at the stadium during their Love Yourself: Speak Yourself Tour on May 25 and 26, 2019, with a sold-out crowd of 84,728 people.

National

The first national concert at the Arena was performed by singer Roberto Carlos, on April 18, 2015, in commemoration of his 74th birthday. Over 50,000 people attended the presentation.^[18]

List of major concerts

List of major concerts and musical events held at the Allianz Parque involving the full stadium and the amphitheater. Some concerts may have a different configuration, by using an increased amphitheater with the stage advancing a bit further into the pitch, and therefore, creating a greater space for the audience on the stands and on the pitch itself.