Since May, Clube Atlético do Juventus has been carrying out a series of irregular works at the Rua Javari stadium, in Mooca, East Zone of São Paulo. As it is a listed property, any renovation or intervention must first receive approval from Conpresp (Municipal Heritage Defense Council) – which has not yet happened.
This Tuesday (10), Globocop flew over Rua Javari and verified that work continued to progress, with workers on several work fronts at the stadium. The movement was noticed one day after Conpresp ordered the immediate suspension of interventions and asked the technical area to survey which works could be regularized.
The decision was taken on Monday (9), during a meeting in which the council also postponed the analysis of the restoration project presented by Juventus in June. The discussion of the topic was left for the next session, while the Department of Historical Heritage (DPH) identifies which interventions affected elements protected by listing and which are still subject to regularization.
A technical report from the DPH, based on an inspection carried out on November 6, recorded the construction of new blocks of bleachers on the sides of the main structure, the installation of seats in the general areas (lowest sector and closest to the fence) and other works without authorization.
"Even interventions on the listed elements were being carried out at the time of the technical visit, and there were even irreversible interventions already carried out, such as the demolitions carried out on walls, in the stands and in the general areas", recorded the technicians.
Among the interventions on listed elements, the report highlights an opening in the Javari Street wall, the partial demolition of a grandstand and the installation of a 70-meter panel with the name "Arena Javari" over the east grandstand.
Contrary to the document, the president of the Sociedade Anônima do Futebol (SAF) that manages the club, Claudio Fiorito, stated at the Conpresp meeting that the works did not affect any protected construction.
He also complained that the interruption would harm Juventus' calendar, which needs to increase the stadium's audience capacity until January to host Paulistão games. "If I stop this way, under my responsibility, I am literally declaring the end of the project," Fiorito said at the meeting.
Juventus will return to the first division of state football in 2027 and needs to meet the requirements of the São Paulo Football Federation (FPF) to play games at home. Currently, Rua Javari holds 3,800 people, while the competition requires a minimum capacity of 10,000 fans. Delivering the renovated arena by January is one of the promises made by SAF management to the project's investors.
The Conde Rodolfo Crespi stadium was listed by the municipality in 2016. The Conpresp resolution determines the preservation, among other elements, of the stands, the general stands, the field, the walls, the main entrance, the courtyard and the ticket offices. Constructions erected on the land after the original project can be altered or demolished, but need to be analyzed on a case-by-case basis by the council.
The reform began a few days after Juventus beat Ferroviária, on May 13, and guaranteed their return to the first state division after 19 years. When g1 reported the case, in June, the club had already demolished a gymnasium, a side stand, the fence and the stadium's reserve benches – all without a permit, as the restoration request was still being analyzed by the DPH.
Despite the warnings made by the report, the city hall did not immediately order the competent bodies to inspect the works. When asked at the time about a possible punishment for SAF, the municipal management did not respond.
In a statement, SAF-Juventus said that the project "remains in line with the guidelines of the responsible bodies and will continue to await the next decisions from Conpresp to proceed with the other stages" (read in full at the end).
g1 also asked the city hall for a position on the continuity of irregular works, but did not receive a response until the publication of this report. The text will be updated when there is a response.
Fund for restoration was diverted by former board
Juventus has already been fined by the City of São Paulo and had former directors investigated by the police on suspicion of embezzling resources that were supposed to pay for conservation and restoration work at the stadium.
In 2022, the club declared that it did not have the financial capacity to carry out the renovation and obtained authorization to sell the unused "constructive potential" in the property, which has limitations on expanding its built area due to listing. With the operation, Juventus raised around R$2.3 million that should be applied to the conservation of the listed heritage, according to the commitment signed with the municipal management.
The 2014 São Paulo Master Plan establishes that developers need to pay the city hall a fee called "onerous grant" to build taller buildings. The Transfer of the Right to Build (TDC) allows him to buy additional "construction potential" from owners of listed properties, usually for a lower price, instead of paying the fee directly to the public coffers. In theory, the money paid in this transaction should be used to conserve assets.
In 2025, default generated a contractual fine calculated at R$2.9 million by the city hall, in addition to the full return of the amount collected to the Cultural Heritage Protection Fund (Funcap).
During the transition process to the SAF, the new board said it found signs of misappropriation of resources, which would have been used to pay off personal loans from former directors, and made a commitment to restore the stadium.
The case became the target of an internal investigation and a police investigation to investigate the crimes of major embezzlement, embezzlement and criminal association involving four former managers of the club.
According to the Public Security Secretariat (SSP), the case is currently investigated as money laundering by the Citizenship Protection Police Department. "The investigation identified companies suspected of paying for transfers and efforts are continuing to clarify the final destination of such resources", says a note sent by the department.
Faced with evidence that the institution may have been a victim of its own administration, Conpresp decided to suspend the fine against Juventus while it analyzes the restoration project presented by SAF. A definitive decision on the punishment will only be made after technical analysis has been completed.
What those involved say
Read the full note sent by SAF-Juventus:
Juventus SAF reinforces that it has always fully respected the guidelines and determinations of the Department of Historical Heritage (DPH) and the Municipal Council for the Preservation of Historical, Cultural and Environmental Heritage of the City of São Paulo (CONPRESP), maintaining its commitment to the preservation of the club's history and heritage.
At the 858th Ordinary Meeting of CONPRESP, held this Monday (9), the restoration works that already had prior authorization from the competent bodies were partially approved.
Juventus SAF remains aligned with the guidelines of the responsible bodies and will continue to await the next decisions from CONPRESP to proceed with the other stages of the project, always in compliance with the necessary authorizations. SAF is still awaiting the publication of the determinations in the Official Gazette to validate the guidelines.
