Construction of Atlético Mineiro's new home is going very well. So is the sale of skyboxes. It turned out that more of them will be offered than it was originally planned. In early March, the club announced that new VIP spaces for purchase would be created in the north stand.

Previously, only boxes in the south, west and east stands were available for sale. Now the club will offer a total of 128 boxes at Arena MRV. All those who decide to purchase will guarantee themselves the use of this space at all Atlético home matches for a period of 15 years. Box owners will also have priority in the purchase of tickets for cultural events and football matches of other teams (such as the Brazil national team).

© instagram.com/arenamrv / youtube.com/ArenaMRV / www.arenamrv.com.br

The cash flow from the sale of new skyboxes is extremely important for the club, because of the rising cost of building the stadium. At the beginning, the investment budget was set at 410 million reals (R$). It later grew to R$ 560 million (€93 million /$100 million at that time). In the meantime, the price of materials went up drastically and according to the latest estimates, the total construction cost will be around R$700 million (€131,5 million /$147 million).

The stadium is half-finished

Rising costs, however, are not slowing down the pace of work. Currently, Arena MRV is almost 50 percent complete. Work on the construction of the stadium began in April 2020. The latest available photos show big work progress. The structure of the three-tier stands is ready as well as the external skeleton, which is now being covered with facade cladding.

© instagram.com/arenamrv / youtube.com/ArenaMRV / www.arenamrv.com.br

Let us recall that the cladding of the facility will be divided into vertical segments - white and ash. They will differ in light transmission, thanks to which the division into dark and light stripes, referring to the club's colours, will be clear both during the day and at night.

The construction should be finished in October this year, but then the process of approval will begin. The owners of the "Roosters" from Belo Horizonte announce that the club will move into the new stadium in early 2023. At that time, the 47,465-seat stands will be filled for the first time.

© Farkasvölgyi Arquitetura

A billionaire who does not like to spend

In Mineiro's case, there would have been no chance of a new stadium had it not been for Rubens Menin. The founder of MRV, Brazil's biggest property developer, helped bring the club out of its slump. Unlike billionaires from all over the world who like to buy clubs and pump huge amounts of money into them, the Brazilian real estate tycoon made sure to solve his beloved Atlético's problems in a systemic way.

He also came up with an interesting model for stadium construction. In the case of the club from Belo Horizonte, the investment is largely financed by... the fans. They contribute to the construction by buying seats in the new arena. Or, more precisely, the right to exclusive use of a particular seat for a period of 15 years. The same goes for VIP boxes, which we have already mentioned.

© Farkasvölgyi Arquitetura

The decision to increase the pool of skyboxes in response to rising construction costs clearly shows that Atlético's managers always have a plan "B". Other sources of investment include the sale of shares in the club's shopping centre, the sale of the stadium's naming rights to MRV and minor sponsorship deals.