PANSTADIA & ARENA MANAGEMENT AUTUMN 2013
New business belief
Carlos Eduardo Paes Barreto, CEO of OAS Arenas, a leading player in the Brazilian venue market, talks to PanStadia & Arena Management.
Have sports venues always been an important target market for OAS?
One of OAS’ strategies is to invest in infrastructure. In the last few years, the company has been awarded projects to operate airports, highways, metro stations, just to name a few. And of course, we could not be out of the new industry of venues in Brazil.
The awarding of the 2014 FIFA World Cup was a catalyst for the company; however, we consider our project as visionary because it was conceived even before Brazil was offi cially host country of World Cup 2014. The involvement of OAS with the venue industry started in 2007 with the deal with Grêmio football club to construct and operate its new stadium for the next 20 years. By that time we already knew that this new kind of facility in Brazil would be designed to go beyond the sporting calendar and believed in both the success and development of this industry. Arena do Grêmio, in Porto Alegre, our fi rst business in this industry, is the proof of this also because it was built entirely with private funds and is not one of the stadiums that will host the 2014 FIFA World Cup matches.
What challenges did you face in bringing this concept of a multi-purpose venue to Brazil?
We were the fi rst company to introduce such concepts to the country so of course we found challenges. The World Cup helped, but a new type of business, which is unprecedented in Brazil, requires barriers to be broken. The construction challenges followed us during the entire construction period due to the particular requirements of this type of building. And after the inauguration, we are still facing issues to adjust the team to the industry’s needs.
How important was it to incorporate local culture and requirements?
It’s the key to success. We see each venue as unique, with its own particular needs relating to its location. Arena do Grêmio has a football scenario with a high number of fans and a world-class football team. There is no way to ignore this when doing the business plan for this project. In a different scenario, Arena das Dunas, another project of ours, in the north of the country, has an incredible location within the city and a good area to develop commercial spots that will be a
must for the local community. We cannot turn our back on these advantages.
Did Itaipava Arena Fonte Nova in Salvador follow the same strategic model as in Grêmio?
The strategic model of Itaipava Arena Fonte Nova is broadly the same as Arena do Grêmio. We focus on service, security, safety and content, seeing the supporters as customers and trying to deliver to our partners a good deal at the end of the day. Of course we need to respect the details of each project to suit the different stakeholders and local community.
What are the main lessons learnt from these projects?
First of all, venue and football club must work together. Although the fi nal goals are different, one is trying to win the tournaments while the other is doing its best to deliver a unique positive experience to its visitors; both entities will only achieve their best results if they walk in the same direction side by side. Second, there are some deals that the venue must close before its opening: having the appropriate catering operator already working is among one of them.
... venue and football club ... will only achieve their best results if they walk in the same direction side by side.
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fEATURE VENUES IN BRAZIL
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