Following the test match played at one of the troubled Arena da Baixada in the southern city of Curitiba, the local World Cup organizing committee are satisfied with the level of work.
The exhibition game was still held despite fans having difficulty getting into the match venue which is a game between Corinthians and host Atletico Paranaense, the local organisers said it was expected as some infrastructures are yet to be put in place. Some seats are still be installed and some unfinished works outside of the stadium.
CEO of the local World Cup organizing committee, Ricardo Trade said “The pressure paid off after we had all the delays with construction work. There are some adjustments to make, but everything went well.”
Arena da Baixada was almost excluded due to some hitches which range from finance and labour court rulings. It is one of the three stadiums yet to be completed, along with Arena Pantanal in Cuiaba and Itaquerao in Sao Paulo.
Atletico Paranaense president Celso Petraglia said of work at the stadium “We are in the final stretch, there’s not a lot left to be done.”
The 40,000-capacity Arena da Baixada stadium will play host to four World Cup — Iran-Nigeria, Honduras-Ecuador, Australia-Spain and Algeria-Russia. There is likelihood the stadium play host to one more test match before the World Cup.