São Paulo football club Corinthians and Caixa Econômica Federal have confirmed that they are negotiating a way to settle the club's BR640m ($123m) debt over the construction of its Neo Química Arena.
Caixa is a state bank that also administers the country's federal lottery system, which makes it the central operator of Brazil's lottery sector.
The club wants to clear the debt by giving Caixa the stadium's naming rights and other commercial products. The arena's name currently belongs to pharmaceutical company Hypera Pharma, which has paid around BR15m a year, adjusted for inflation, since signing in 2020.
Corinthians' board values the rights at about BR70m a season, so a deal with Caixa could be priced to offset the debt, since the bank would hold the right to exploit the name commercially for a set period.
After a meeting in Brasília, attended by club President Osmar Stabile, directors, leaders of supporters' group Gaviões da Fiel, bank executives and minister Guilherme Boulos, the parties issued a joint statement.
"During the meeting, the bank and club formalized the signing of a confidentiality agreement. The negotiations remain ongoing and the talks continue in an environment of cooperation, legal responsibility and transparency," it said.
Recently, Corinthians suspended installment payments on the debt and received back BR13.5m of the BR27m it had deposited in a reserve account with the bank, using the money to pay overdue salaries to the men's squad.
The club has also positioned itself as against the ending of the regulated betting sector in the country and had Esportes da Sorte as its main sponsor before the ban.
Behind the scenes, Stabile cites the Arena debt as the main driver of the club's serious financial crisis, with total debt of around BR2.8bn
