Confirmed: Mineirão is back in January.
Closed to football since June 6, 2010, the main stage for Minas Gerais' sport will be ready to return as early as the next Minas Gerais Championship, probably in a classic match between Cruzeiro and Atlético. At least that's what the government guarantees, but at Independência stadium, the promise has not been fulfilled.
Minas 247 - The Extraordinary State Secretariat for the World Cup (Secopa) guarantees: Mineirão will be back in January. This promise comes from Sérgio Barroso of Secopa, who believes there will be no delays this time. However, in the case of Independência stadium, the renovation only finished after at least two postponements – even so, the new stadium has flaws, such as 6 "blind" seats, obstructing the view of the matches.
With the promise of the ball rolling in January 2013, everything indicates that the next Minas Gerais State Championship will begin, in its opening round, at the new Mineirão stadium. The renovation schedule anticipates completion by December 21st, but, as the players will be on vacation during that period, the return will take place the following month. There is a current within the government proposing that the reopening match be between the two biggest teams in the state, Cruzeiro and Atlético.
The last time Minas Gerais' largest football stadium hosted a game was on June 6, 2010, when Atlético Mineiro was defeated by Ceará 1-0 in that year's Brazilian Championship. Two weeks later, the band Skank performed a free concert there.
In addition to annual tournaments, Mineirão will host the Confederations Cup in 2013. Belo Horizonte will host three matches of the competition, which brings together national teams that have already been world champions. In 2014, the stadium will host six matches for the World Cup.
The reconstruction of Mineirão stadium is costing R$ 665 million, according to Minas Arena, the company responsible for the construction and subsequent operation of the stadium. Currently, about 60% of the renovation is complete. Mineirão underwent a process of lowering the pitch, installing 166 shock absorbers under the upper part of its grandstand structure, and will have the entire roof of the spectator seating area covered. The field, however, will remain uncovered. With these changes, the stadium's capacity will decrease from 75.783 spectators to 64,5.