Another historic day and a fundamental step towards realizing the dream of Flamengo's stadium! On Friday afternoon (16), at Rio's City Hall in Cidade Nova, the purchase and sale agreement for the Gasômetro land, purchased by Flamengo, was signed. This was another fundamental step, with legal weight, for the Club to definitively assume ownership of the land and begin the construction process.

The first formalization after Flamengo presented the guarantees and bond to the city government to proceed with the acquisition process, the event brought together, in the mayor's office, President Rodolfo Landim, Vice President of General and Legal Affairs Rodrigo Dunshee, Vice President of Assets Marcos Bodin, and Vice President of Communications and Marketing Gustavo Oliveira, on behalf of the club. Present on behalf of the city government were Federal Deputy Pedro Paulo, the city's Sports Secretary Guilherme Schleder, and Jorge Arraes, the city's Secretary of Government Coordination.

"Another step toward realizing this great dream. I thank everyone here who is contributing in some way to make this happen. I appreciate your presence (Federal Representative Pedro Paulo) and I thank the city's mayor (Eduardo Paes), who has always been by our side and understands all the benefits not only for Flamengo but for Rio de Janeiro society. Every step toward our dream is very important," Landim added.

"The idea is to have the final deed very soon. We still have a long way to go, but so far, things have been going very well. We remain steadfast and optimistic in our purpose. We want to create a strong Flamengo movement so that everyone can support and hold the club's management accountable to make this dream a reality. Of course, we depend on some things that are not entirely within Flamengo's control, such as the permits we're yet to receive from the city government, but we'll work on them," concluded the Flamengo president.

Vice President Dunshee also celebrated another achievement towards the dream of owning his own stadium.

"It's very important that we register our purchase and sale agreement. Things are going very well in the legal proceedings, and it's a great honor to sign this agreement with President Landim. The land survey will be carried out in the next few days, and this will determine the issuance of possession by the city hall, which will be transferred to Flamengo. The main thing now is for Flamengo to do what President Landim said: gather the fans and the council members and go to the site. We have 18 months to develop the project, which will be done very carefully, and then obtain the permits that the city hall will grant to Flamengo. Then, we will have a three-year deadline to build the stadium, which can be extended for another three years if necessary. We will present the concept of the stadium we want to our council, and then we will begin finalizing the detailed design," he said, followed by Marcos Bodin.

"The expectation of taking office is more legal. We still have some legal procedures to complete, but it's not far off. I believe we'll be able to have the final deed by the end of September," he declared.

"Everything is going well. The city government is taking all legal precautions to ensure all processes are carried out legally. Fans are wondering when Flamengo will 'get the keys,' and I believe that in a few days, Flamengo will definitely have possession of the land, with the deed completed, and will be able to begin, brick by brick, building the long-awaited stadium. The mayor was not present today at the ceremony simply as a precaution, as he is campaigning and the election process began today. Some might interpret this as a political act. Therefore, Eduardo delegated today's mission to the secretaries, and I, as a federal deputy, come as a witness to endorse this process," explained Pedro Paulo.

Also on behalf of the city hall, Guilherme Schleder spoke of the importance of this afternoon's event.

"It's been very important to us, from the beginning, when we began promoting the process with Landim, to get to this day. Today is a great moment, as we have an official document that effectively grants Flamengo ownership of the land," he concluded.

Timeline

The City of Rio de Janeiro, through Decree 54.961 of June 21, 2024, carried out the expropriation of the property located at Avenida São Cristóvão, nº 1200. On July 9, the auction notice was published in the Official Gazette. 

Last Monday (29), at an extraordinary meeting of the Deliberative Council, 602 councilors voted in favor of the club's participation in the auction, which took place on July 31, also at the city hall building. As the only bidder, Flamengo needed only one bid to win the venue for R$138.195.000,00. After acceptance, Eduardo Paes was called to the table to approve the proposal, causing commotion and celebration among those present in the auditorium, who sang the club's anthem in celebration. Payment was made a few days after the act was published in the Official Gazette, in cash.

This afternoon, another step was taken toward achieving the ultimate goal with the signing of the purchase and sale agreement. Now, the Club awaits the court's decision on the land survey. From there, according to the notice, once the land value has been confirmed or the difference established—which, if necessary, will be paid by Flamengo—the next step will be to obtain the final deed to the property.

The board's estimate is to inaugurate the stadium on November 15, 2029, the club's anniversary.

Check out FlaTV's report on today's historic event this Friday night!