Marista Hall, currently named Chevrolet Hall, is a convention centre in Belo Horizonte

Belo Horizonte

Belo Horizonte is the capital of and largest city in the state of Minas Gerais, located in the southeastern region of Brazil. It is the third largest metropolitan area in the country...

, Brazil, created by the Marist Brothers

Marist Brothers

The Marist Brothers, or Little Brothers of Mary, are a Catholic religious order of brothers and affiliated lay people. The order was founded in France, at La Valla-en-Gier near Lyon in 1817 by Saint Marcellin Champagnat, a young French priest of the Society of Mary...

 institution UBEE, the Brazilian Association of Education and Teaching. The goal was to create an environment with a great diversity of spaces. It includes a multipurpose room, a theater, an arena, courts, and a parking lot; this structure is suitable for a wide variety of cultural, artistic, and sports events, be it of a technical, commercial or recreational nature.

Construction began in March 1997, and the original deadline was December 1998. However, this deadline was progressively postponed, and the building did not open until June 25, 2003.

Since a good part of the construction was financed by students of the nearby Colégio Marista Dom Silvério

Colégio Marista Dom Silvério

Colégio Marista Dom Silvério, or CMDS, is a private Marist school located on the southern region of Belo Horizonte, in Brazil. Its courses go from pre-school to highscool, which in the Brazilian educational system is usually identified with ages from 4 to 17....

, Marista Hall is a target of jokes and dissatisfaction, because thousands of students paid for it but never benefited from it, having left school before construction was completed.

Further dissatisfaction came when Chevrolet

Chevrolet

Chevrolet , also known as Chevy , is a brand of vehicle produced by General Motors Company . Founded by Louis Chevrolet and ousted GM founder William C. Durant on November 3, 1911, General Motors acquired Chevrolet in 1918...

 began to sponsor the convention center in 2005; as a result the place changed its name to Chevrolet Hall. There is a community in orkut

Orkut

Orkut is a social networking website that is owned and operated by Google Inc. The service is designed to help users meet new and old friends and maintain existing relationships...

dedicated to "refusing" the new name, mostly former and current students of Colégio Marista Dom Silvério who feel their contributions to the site should be recognized in its name.

The arena show has a capacity of 6,700 people, and the sports facilities conform to official international rules. Dom Silvério Theater has a capacity of 400 people.