Spain: New Bernabéu is generating one problem after another for Madrid

source: StadiumDB.com; author: Miguel Ciołczyk Garcia

Spain: New Bernabéu is generating one problem after another for Madrid First, the noise. Then, the license. And now, the report from the firefighters. Real Madrid has a hard time defending their decisions regarding the new Bernabéu, which is losing credibility ahead of the 2030 World Cup final and is gradually shifting from the jewel in the crown to a serious headache for Florentino Pérez.

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The mayor defends the club…

The mayor of Madrid José Luis Martínez-Almeida came out to defend Real Madrid against the accusations of the Asociación Vecinal Perjudicados por el Bernabéu, according to which the stadium's operating license expired due to the works. Imagine that, when a hospital is reformed, there can be no activity in the hospital because a major work is being carried out, ridiculed the first mayor.

He also confirmed that the promoters who organized the concerts were fined a total figure of €801,000, of which €280,000 was for the two Taylor Swift concerts.

Construction of Estadio Santiago Bernabéu© Madrid1902

...but it doesn't seem enough

However, the mayor did not know how to respond so clearly to the information that had emerged just a few hours earlier. El Confidencial had denounced that concerts at Estadio Santiago Bernabéu had been held without a favorable report from the fire department. The digital newspaper analyzed a document obtained by the Más Madrid municipal group, coming to the conclusion that Los Blancos’ temple hosted shows without waiting for the formalities to end.

The document was a response to a question asked by the political group, and was issued on August 1 by the Activities Agency of the City Council. The document stated that the operating license, finally granted on August 30, was still in procedure, since the firefighters had requested several corrections to be carried out on the venue.

I tell you again the same thing: the operating license of the Santiago Bernabeu stadium covered the holding of the concerts, Martinez-Almeida responded when asked about these reports.

Construction of Estadio Santiago Bernabéu© Madrid1902

The million dollar question

The bone of contention is, once again, the question whether the 2017 operating license lapsed as the stadium suffered substantial changes due to the works. These included the construction of a retractable roof, a huge hypogeum for the turf, a new facade, changes in the geometry of the stands and the installation of the 360-degree video board, among others.

If so, the concerts would have occurred illegally. On the contrary, if the license was still valid, the information of El Confidencial would have no relevance. However, in this case it would have to be asked what is the reason for the granting of a new operating license precisely in the summer of 2024, when there were no structural changes carried out on the stadium.

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