The gavel falls at the exchange
The future of CentroSul, the main events complex in Florianópolis, was decided on Friday, 18 September, at the headquarters of B3, the Brazilian stock exchange, in São Paulo. In an open-outcry auction run by the City of Florianópolis, the company DMDL LTDA won the contest for the use concession and will run the convention centre for the next 35 years.
DMDL offered an initial grant fee of R$ 31.5 million, a figure representing a 90.91% premium over the R$ 16.5 million reference price set in the tender. It was nearly double the minimum bid, a sign of the interest the asset drew in the market.
The winner is no newcomer. Grupo DMDL is a Brazilian company with more than 25 years of experience in engineering and infrastructure architecture for major events, in Brazil and abroad. Its portfolio includes high-complexity deliveries such as the 2014 FIFA World Cup, the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, fourteen editions of Formula 1, the 2019 Copa América and the 2023 Santiago Pan American Games. It is a group that projected revenue of around R$ 1 billion in 2025 building megaevent structures around the world, and which now moves into operating a permanent convention centre. The new concessionaire is expected to take over management of CentroSul in January 2027.
A contest decided by R$ 100,000
The win was not easy. The runner-up, the Consórcio Floripa Eventos, offered R$ 31.4 million, a 90.30% premium. The gap between first and second place was just R$ 100,000, showing how hard the two groups fought over every bid in the closing stretch of the session.
What the concession demands from the winner
The concession goes far beyond operating the space. On top of the initial grant fee won at auction, DMDL will have to pay the city an annual grant of R$ 250,000, adjusted for inflation over the 35 years of the contract.
In return, it takes on the commitment to fully refurbish the complex. The tender calls for expanding and modernising the structure, creating new food and beverage areas, new landscaping and improvements to the internal road system. There are also obligations in the surroundings, such as drainage works to contain the flooding that plagues the area and the construction of a new pedestrian walkway linking CentroSul to the city centre.
The auction was attended by the Mayor of Florianópolis, Topázio Neto, and the Secretary of Tourism, Technology and Economic Development, Juliano Richter Pires. For the city, the concession returns a renewed venue to the public and shifts the cost of investment to the private sector, a model the capital wants to consolidate for events tourism, one of the engines of the island's economy.
Details
CentroSul concession, Florianópolis Events Centre
Auction held on 18 September 2026, at B3, in São Paulo
Winner: DMDL LTDA, with an initial grant fee of R$ 31.5 million (90.91% premium)
Concession term: 35 years
By: Redação Mundo Mar
Photo: Reprodução: B3
