After 10 years, nine out of the 12 stadiums from the 2014 World Cup in Brazil have still not been fully paid for. The second stadium that was fully paid for to the BNDES may come as a surprise: the bank considers the Neo Química Arena, home to Corinthians, to be fully paid off. However, this status comes with an asterisk, as the debt to the BNDES was actually paid off with a transfer from Caixa Econômica Federal. In reality, the debt, which originally amounted to R$400 million, still exists, it just changed creditors.
The BNDES has not disclosed the total amount still outstanding for the ProCopa Arenas, citing banking secrecy. They only confirmed that the other stadiums still have pending payment amounts. To try and uncover the total figure, UOL reached out to state governments. Four of them (Rio de Janeiro, Ceará, Bahia, and Paraná) confirmed the exact amount still owed by the end of April.
The financing for Maracanã, Castelão, Arena Fonte Nova, and Ligga Arena amounted to R$1.2 billion. And these four states have already paid off R$893.7 million. This means that their total outstanding debt is R$312.4 million.
The Finance Departments of Mato Grosso, Amazonas, and Pernambuco did not respond to inquiries, leaving their payment statuses unknown.
