At the end of August, Marbella intends to put out to public tender the concession for the construction of a new football stadium. The project, being carried out by the Marbella FC Foundation, envisages a private investment in excess of €115 million. Although this appears to be standard procedure, it is worth noting that this is the third attempt at this project.

Great talkers are little doers - case background

Estadio Municipal Antonio Lorenzo Cuevas is a multi-purpose stadium in Marbella that has been used for football matches, rugby union, athletics competitions and artistic events. The facility has now been closed for three years and is waiting for a proper upgrade.

In the coming two seasons, the Marbella FC team will play their matches at Dama de Noche stadium. The mayor of Marbella insists that the project meets all the legal and technical requirements and the demolition of old Lorenzo Cuevas Stadium will begin after the summer of 2024. “The aim is that in three seasons' time Marbella FC will be able to play in their new stadium” - Mayor Ángeles Muñoz pointed out.

The design for the new stadium in Marbella is currently being studied by the city council, with the necessary documents submitted in April. “I hope that in the next few days we will have these favourable reports that will allow the public exhibition to begin” - Muñoz added. The permitting process and the publication of the plot concession are expected to be completed in the summer. The initial projected cost of implementation was around €120 million.

© Huete Arquitectos

The mayor's announcements were met with mixed reactions. Although Ángeles Muñoz assures that the work is progressing as planned, earlier promises about the timing of the demolition of the old stadium and the construction of the new one have raised questions. It is now planned that the Lorenzo Cuevas stadium will be demolished after the summer of 2024, to allow construction of the new facility to begin. To some, such an ambitious timetable sounds unbelievable, especially as demolition has already been planned twice but never materialised. But this time, I think it will be fair to say, the third time's the charm.

New stadium - first step

The town hall plans to put out to public display the tender for the design of the future football stadium, to be drawn up by the Marbella F.C Foundation. It is expected to last a month and will start at the end of August. Many people see in the Mayor's actions that there is little transparency about the project. At this point it is not clear what the new stadium will look like and the design seems to be very different from the one chosen in the competition. In addition, Marbella FC has applied for a 75-year concession for the land on which the current stadium is located, and the process still raises many questions.

© Huete Arquitectos

“There will be a report next week, the previous report is already positive, we are waiting for the last report, both technical and legal, next week it will be ready” the mayor said. In mid-July, the Mayor stated that the reports would be ready "within the next few days”, but these deadlines were almost always missed.

In addition, the Municipal Planning Delegation has given the green light to both the demolition project and the construction of the new stadium. In addition to this, the work also includes bringing the project into line with current regulations and making the necessary modifications. The demolition, which had been planned for September, is now scheduled for the end of the year, so it is already possible to speak of the first delays, although the original deadline even pointed to 2023! “We will work tirelessly” Muñoz concluded.