The Atletico Paranaense football club, owner of the Arena da Baixada stadium in the southern Brazilian city of Curitiba, capital of Parana state, has indicated that it will open a public tender for the refurbishment and management of the facility by February 2011.
The Arena, which is already one of the most modern in Brazil following a major renovation in 1999 and, therefore, requires only minor works in relation to most other 2014 Cup host stadia, should be a candidate for some of the most high profile matches in the tournament.
A number of construction groups have already shown interest in the project, including local company J Malucelli, Odebrecht, which is involved in a number of Cup projects including the controversial Arena do Corinthians in São Paulo, and OAS, already contracted for Salvador´s Cup stadium Fonte Nova.
The Arena da Baixada should take a year and a half to refurbish and be relaunched by December 2012.
The project could be quite attractive to relevant Australian groups given both the timeframe and relative ease of access to the Curitiba market, which is one of Brazil´s most modern cities. Details of the tender will be released when available.