RIO DE JANEIRO, April 5 (Xinhua) -- Brazilian football clubs Flamengo and Fluminense will jointly manage the Maracana stadium for the next six months, Rio de Janeiro's state government said on Friday.
In a statement, Rio governor Wilson Witzel said there was an option to extend the contract for another six months while the government drafts terms for a new public tender.
"Maracana is being returned to football in Rio," Witzel said. "In this time [the next six to 12 months] we we will be able to create a transparent and ethical process for a new definitive public-private partnership for 35 years."
Under terms of the arrangement, Fluminense and Flamengo will bear the stadium's fixed operating costs of around two million reais per month (516,000 US dollars), in addition to a monthly rights fee of 167,000 reais (about 43,000 dollars) to the government.
A consortium led by local construction firm Odebrecht was last month stripped of the concession to operate the venue because of alleged contract breaches and its involvement in a corruption scandal.
The 87,000-capacity Maracana is scheduled to hosts five matches in this year's Copa America, including the final on July 7.
