Palmeiras' stadium may be shut down.

Fernando Porfírio_247 – The São Paulo Public Prosecutor's Office wants to stop the construction of Arena Palestra, the Palmeiras stadium renovation project. To this end, prosecutor José Carlos de Freitas filed an injunction in court to halt the demolition of the old Palestra Itália stadium and suspend the works.

Construction entered a new phase this Friday (15), with the start of foundation work, after the demolition of a large part of the old grandstand. The project is being carried out by the construction company WTorre.

The public prosecutor is requesting the annulment of two building permits, one from last year and another from this year, which were issued by the City Hall. According to José Carlos de Freitas, the permits are based on an older one from 2002, and therefore have expired, since the works were interrupted.

According to the prosecutor, the project was approved in 1996, which should not have happened according to the 1971 master plan, which stipulated that social sports clubs must have at least 40% permeable area.

A 1973 law repeats the wording, as do the 1988 master plan and the current one. In other words, according to the prosecutor's office, these rules have been in effect for about 40 years. The exception that would allow the work to proceed would be to meet the safety or hygiene needs of the property.

The Arena Palestra is being built to replace the Palestra Itália stadium, which has already been almost entirely demolished. Despite having no chance of hosting the opening match of the World Cup, WTorre still hopes that the stadium will host a game during the 2014 World Cup.