Event giants to spearhead São Paulo arena

Article posted by Coliseum, October 19^th, 2021

Image: OVG, Live Nation & GL Events

The São Paulo (Brazil) Mayor Ricardo Nunes announced on October 15^th that the City will be welcoming a new 20,000-capacity arena, developed through the partnership of Live Nation Entertainment, the world’s leading live entertainment company, Oak View Group (OVG), the global venue development, advisory and investment company for the sports and live entertainment industries, and French events services experts GL events, a world-class provider of integrated solutions and services for events, who was awarded a 30-year lease by the City of São Paulo for the Anhembi campus (4 million square feet).

The ‘PR Newswire’ stated that the state-of-the-art Arena São Paulo will host live events including concerts, sports games, family entertainment, and more, and will be located within São Paulo’s premier entertainment destination, the Anhembi District, which is already well-known for hosting the carnival parade, among other events.

California (US)-headquartered Live Nation Entertainment is the world’s leading live entertainment company comprising global market leaders: Ticketmaster, Live Nation Concerts and Live Nation Media & Sponsorship. Ticketmaster is the global leader in event ticketing with over 500 million tickets sold annually and more than 12,000 clients worldwide. Live Nation Concerts is the largest provider of live entertainment in the world promoting more than 40,000 shows and 100+ festivals annually for nearly 4,000 artistes in over 40 countries.

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Live Nation has an important presence in Latin America, hosting major festivals in Brazil such as Lollapalooza and Rock in Rio, promoting local and international tours and is continuing to expand its footprint with its recent agreement to acquire OCESA Entertainment, a leading promoter in Mexico.

Los Angeles (US)-headquartered the Oak View Group (OVG) is a global sports and entertainment company founded by Tim Leiweke and Irving Azoff in 2015. OVG is focused on being a positive disruption to business as usual in the sports and live entertainment industry and currently has eight divisions across four global offices (Los Angeles, New York, London (UK), and Philadelphia).

With over 40 years of experience, Brazil’s largest operator in the events sector – Lyon (France) headquartered GL events – is a leading global player of the events industry and boasts a network of 50+ event venues operating in four continents. GL events are involved at every stage of the event, from concept and design to implementation. GL events have invested over 1.3 billion reais in Brazil since 2006.

In December 2020, GL events Brazil was awarded by the City of Sao Paulo the concession to operate the Anhembi District for the next 30 years. GL events Brazil organizes 10 exhibitions and builds 100 events annually.

The ‘PR Newswire’ further stated that as part of the development agreement, Anhembi will emerge as São Paulo’s newest district, revitalizing the fabric of the surrounding community. The Arena São Paulo announcement marks the beginning of the redevelopment of the whole Anhembi District, which will include a large program of real estate investments. Anhembi will be transformed into a global benchmark for events, featuring the indoor arena, a cultural boulevard, an exhibition center, and São Paulo’s first next-generation international convention center. The agreement marks the most significant step towards the modernization of the complex in its 50-year history. As a result of the redevelopment, the complex will generate cash flows of approximately 5 billion of Brazilian reais of economic benefit for the City and local businesses and become one of the main engines to boost the São Paulo economy.

At the same time, this development creates a historic opportunity for São Paulo, the fourth largest City in the world and the wealthiest economy in Latin America, to continue maximizing its prominence as one of the world’s top destinations for concerts, sports, e-sports, family events, exhibitions, and conventions.

Said a thrilled São Paulo Mayor Nunes, “Today is a historic day for our City because we are starting the implementation of the Arena São Paulo, a project spearheaded by the three best companies in the world in their industry. We are going to build the best arena in Latin America. It will be a major achievement for the City of São Paulo and for the world.”

In addition to developing the venue, Live Nation and Oak View Group will be the operators of the facility and will oversee event bookings. Live Nation is focused on featuring both international and domestic artistes at the City’s future premier large entertainment venue, Arena São Paulo.

Exulted Michael Rapino, President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Live Nation Entertainment, “As the leader in live, we’re excited to be expanding our footprint in Latin America by creating a world-class arena in São Paulo. This new venue will add to our portfolio of 200+ venues worldwide and we are proud to contribute to the growth of São Paulo as a live music hub and international touring destination.”

The Arena has been designed by the world-renowned architectural firm Gensler, and is expected to break ground in 2022 and open its doors in 2024. Using international benchmarks from arenas developed by the Oak View Group in Seattle, New York, California (all in US), and Manchester in UK, the São Paulo Arena will contain innovative features including environmental sustainability programs, VIP seating, hospitality lounges, diverse food and beverage offerings, and premium acoustic technology.

Tim Leiweke, CEO, OVG, commented, “We’re honored to include São Paulo in our global portfolio of entertainment destinations and look forward to working with GL events and Live Nation Entertainment to transform Anhembi District into the largest entertainment destination in Latin America.”

Maintained Olivier Ginon, Founder-cum-Chairman, GL events, “GL events are a leading global player and Brazil’s largest operator in the events sector. We are excited to partner with OVG and Live Nation Entertainment, two global entertainment leaders, to invest in Arena São Paulo. Entertainment is a major component of Anhembi District. We look forward to capturing synergies between Arena São Paulo and our network of venues, including Rio de Janeiro’s 18,000-capacity Jeunesse Arena.”

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