NFL in Brazil has the conditions to be like Formula 1, says SPTuris

The regular season game NFL (National Football League, the main American football league on the planet) in São Paulo should move around US$60 million (approximately R$291 million) in 2024. This is the estimate of Gustavo Pires, president of SPTurisa company linked to the Tourism Department of São Paulo City Hall.

The value is a fraction of the R$ 1.5 billion –according to the city of São Paulo– that Formula 1 moves annually, but the NFL has all the “conditions” of being for São Paulo what the motorsport competition is today, says Pires. “I believe that the next step is to establish a base in SP, as was established in London, which has already had 36 games, to start having an annual game, more than 1 game a year. That is the goal”it says.

The contract between São Paulo City HallSPTuris, NFL and Corinthians (the match will be held at Neo Química Arenain the east zone of the capital of São Paulo) is for a match in the next regular season (played from September to the beginning of January) in 2024.

The exact date of the game, the teams that will travel to Brazil and information related to tickets, such as price and start of sales, will still be defined and announced by the NFL. Sponsorship and media agreements also remain 100% with the league, according to the president of SPTuris.

NEO QUÍMICA ARENA

Pires states that SP City Hall and SPTuris presented the 3 stadiums that currently host sporting and entertainment events to the NFL: Allianz Parquein the west zone, Morumbi, in the south zone, and Neo Química Arena, in the east zone. The league carried out inspections in all 3. It chose Corinthians' home.

One factor that may have weighed in favor of Neo Química Arena was the fact that the stadium has a considerable parking area in the surrounding area, unlike Allianz Parque and Morumbi. For the SPTuris executive, this area could be used for activations and activities such as the well-known “tailgating“ –when fans have a barbecue next to their cars before a match. It is common in the USA.

Compare the 3 stadiums in the image below:

Reproduction/Google Street View

In the montage above, aerial photos of Allianz Parque, Morumbi and Neo Química Arena

NEGOTIATIONS

Talks about bringing an NFL match to Brazil began in 2019, with the then Secretary of Tourism of São Paulo City Hall, Orlando Faria. The league and city hall met, but there was no significant progress.

According to Gustavo Pires, conversations resumed at the end of 2021. At the beginning of 2023, the NFL announced that it would open its calendar to new cities in 2024. In addition to São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Madrid and Barcelona applied to receive the elite of the oval ball.

The final presentation of the candidacies from the 4 cities was held on October 8, 2023, in London. On that date, the city hosted the duel between the Jacksonville Jaguars and Buffalo Bills. Pires says that the contract was closed and signed on the eve of the official announcement, on December 13, 2023.

Brazil will be the 4th country to host an NFL regular season game outside the United States. The others are England, Mexico and Germany. For 2024, it is already certain that London will host 3 games and Munich, 1.