Author: Soorya G
The president of Atlético-MG, Sérgio Coelho, has confirmed that the match against Bahia this Sunday, in the 19th round of the Brazilian Serie A Championship, will be played at the Mineirão Stadium. Initially, it was expected that the match would be held at the MRV Arena.
Coelho mentioned: “Bruno Muzzi, who is the CEO of Atlético-MG and the Arena, is in charge of this matter within the club. But based on the latest information I’ve received, it won’t be possible to play the game against Bahia on the 13th at the Arena. It will be at Mineirão, at 11 a.m.” he told Itatiaia.
The president said that, with this decision, there is a “high probability” that Atlético-MG’s match against Santos, in the 20th round of the Serie A Brazilian Championship, could mark the official debut of the MRV Arena. The Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) has yet to confirm the date and time of the match.
On the 3rd of this month, the mayor of Belo Horizonte, Fuad Noman (PSD), guaranteed that approval for the MRV Arena to host official matches is close. The City Council is evaluating a bill to authorize the stadium to hold 30,000 people, but difficulties in the relationship between the executive branch and the councillors have caused a delay in voting on the proposal. The MRV Arena had already hosted the “Lendas do Galo” friendly match on July 15. On that occasion, the city council allowed Atlético-MG’s new stadium to hold 20,000 spectators.
The Mineirão Stadium has a long history of almost six decades, having been inaugurated in 1965. The stadium has the largest capacity in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais, with a limit of 62,000 seats. Meanwhile, the MRV Arena, Athletico-MG’s recent project to build a world-class soccer infrastructure for the club, will be the club’s official stadium for the next few years. Despite the increase in facilities, the stadium’s capacity is smaller than that of its predecessor, with 46,000 seats.