A renovation at the Morumbi stadium could increase its capacity to 80,000 seats and make it the biggest in Brazil, according to information from UOL. The plan would be to lower the lawn of São Paulo, extinguish the athletics track and bring the stands closer to the edge of the field, with works to be started at the beginning of next year. Even with the possibility of making their stadium the “new” Monumental de Nunez, from River Plate, the tricolor fans reacted with caution on social media and some point out that the elections at the club, scheduled for the end of the year, are the reason for the information leakage.
According to the report, the São Paulo club plans for the works to be carried out in partnership with an investment fund, a reason that also causes negative reactions from fans due to previous speeches, such as the hiring of Daniel Alves, who, supposedly, would be financed by investors.
I think it’s a smokescreen for Casares to try to get re-elected, in any case, if that happened and without further harming the club financially, it would be awesome, and they should increase the capacity by 14,000 for the poorest layers, it would certainly happen in several games .
— spfc (@SpfcSince1930_) September 5, 2023
« Trust fund »
— Central João Félix (@CTJoaoFelix) September 5, 2023
“São Paulo treats it with caution, but is planning a partnership with an Investment Fund, to make the work possible.”
There he comes again. The investment fund! hahahaha
— Micah (@MrFullh) September 5, 2023
I only believe when the works start…
The end of the year has elections and the promises have just begun!— SPFC London (@SPFCLondres) September 5, 2023
From the series… Fantastic news that appears in election season!
— Mauro Barbosa (@Mauro_S_Barbosa) September 5, 2023
“Most feared in America”, there are also those who are excited about the possible reform of Morumbi
There are not only negative reactions from the crowd. On a smaller scale, the São Paulo fans point out that the expansion and approximation of the field can make the atmosphere of Morumbi unique and, thus, being feared by opponents.
Bringing the bleachers closer to the pitch would be a dream, matches at Morumbi would be hell with the crowd pressing closer
— Tetsuo (@imtetsuo) September 5, 2023
forget it, there are more than 80,000 people in this stadium and closer to the field, it’s talk of being the most feared stadium in the americas!
if you catch up and this stadium is for 80,000 people, no one will hold us back
— sovereign gabri (@gabrisoberano) September 5, 2023
It’s already the most badass stadium in Brazil. With this work, it will become the most badass in South America.
— Lukas ˢᵖᶠᶜ (@goldojames__) September 5, 2023
São Paulo adopts the “most popular club” speech with the presence of fans and prices below rivals
The information about the possible “new” Morumbi comes out in the midst of a transformation in the São Paulo crowd. Indicated, for years, as elitist, the presence in the Tricolor stadium has changed drastically in the last 10 years – mainly, due to the poor phase of the club on the field, needing to lower the ticket price to receive support from the stands in sensitive moments.
In 2017, the year the team fought against relegation in the Brasileirão, it had the best average attendance in the club’s history: 34,438 fans per game. The following two years have the second and third best average (31,066 in 2019 and 29,566 in 2018).
The current season has everything to beat that record. At that moment, in 26 games, Morumbi received, on average, more than 45 thousand fans each game. More than 1 million people attended the stadium, which will host nine more games this season (including the Copa do Brasil final) and should have the best average since its foundation in 1960.
With this presence and a low average ticket compared to rivals (R$ 47.02, according to Lance!), the club has adopted the phrase « The Most Popular » to define its situation, a nickname that causes irritation in São Paulo colleagues for São Paulo still be seen as an elite team.