Three strikes and it’s out. Or so it seems for Real Madrid, whose plan to expand Santiago Bernabéu was again met with denial. The city is open to other proposals “as long as they’re in public interest”.

The city of Madrid sees no chance to deliver the massive Estadio Santiago Bernabéu overhaul plan, which was submitted by Real Madrid back in 2012 (final version revealed last year). Yesterday a new response to the project again was negative.

Madrid delegate for sustainable urban development José Manuel Calvo suggested the city would welcome different plans by Real „as long as they’re in public interest, don’t involve alteration or reoccupation of public land and are limited to the area currently covered by the stadium”.

Such statement basically disqualifies the current project, which is basically focused around encroaching public land. The key additions to current stadium would be a hotel and shopping center, increasing the blueprint particularly in the west, covering much of public-owned Paseo de la Castellana.

The scheme released publicly in 2012 was based on an agreement with the city of Madrid that Real would build on public land along the western side of the stadium, but would offset the covered land by donating a plot in different area of the city.

In February this year local Supreme Court of Madrid (TSJM) objected to such agreement, arguing that the club could not compensate the community with land located almost 7km away from the project.  

Just two months ago Real Madrid president Florentino Pérez met with the new mayor of Madrid Manuela Carmena to discuss the issue and he was optimistic that the project might still go on. Even though it has now received three negative rulings…

You can see the level of expansion proposed by Real on the satellite comparison. The stadium would grow severely to the west, closing to Paseo de la Castellana.