Spain: Will a private investor help fund the renovation of Riazor?
source: StadiumDB.com; author: Paulina Skóra
A meeting scheduled for the coming days to discuss the financing of Riazor's modernization for the 2030 World Cup has been postponed due to scheduling conflicts. The City Council was planning to attend the meeting with "private investment guarantees," as Mayor Inés Rey admitted.
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Will Riazor become a multifunctional facility?
Concello da Coruña is working on reaching an agreement for private financing to cover 30% of the costs associated with the renovation of Riazor. The signing of the first agreement with an international company specializing in managing sports venues to transform the stadium into a multifunctional arena, capable of hosting all kinds of major events, such as concerts, is now close.
However, both sides are still negotiating various terms, including the final amount the company will take on from the investment and the period during which it can organize events at the venue. This period will be no less than 25 years. It's worth noting that Deportivo and the City of Coruña extended their agreement on the use of the municipal stadium last summer for another 25 years.
The interested parties are unable to reach an agreement on the financing
The private capital would cover the amount not funded by public institutions (Higher Sports Council, Xunta, Deputación, and Concello), which have committed to taking on 70% of the renovation. The cost of refurbishing Estadio Riazor to meet FIFA standards was initially estimated at €70M, but recent calculations suggest it could reach €90M. Disagreements arise over how much each party should contribute.
Xunta’s Vice President, Diego Calvo, stated, We are unaware of the details of the potential agreement between the Coruña City Council and the private investor,
adding that the 70% public financing should be evenly distributed among the various administrations. Meanwhile, the A Coruña delegation believes the City Council should define how private investments will be made and called Xunta’s proposal unfair.
Time is running out, FIFA is watching and waiting for the final project
These are key aspects that must be defined in the project, which FIFA needs to ratify by December 11. Besides the division of costs, the management company for the entire investment will also be discussed. Last week, the City Council had to submit additional information to FIFA and revise parts of the documents after the federation’s visit on September 24. Beyond VIP areas and funding issues, A Coruña's bid had to modify the renovation project, which has yet to be fully approved.
Sources familiar with the matter indicate that the proposed capacity of 48,000 seats, initially agreed upon with FIFA, will be reduced to 42,000-43,000, which is closer to Deportivo's needs. However, this issue is still not fully resolved, nor is the decision on whether there will be a third tier. One thing is certain: the intention of the City of A Coruña is to complete the works between 2028 and 2029.
The World Cup in A Coruña: an opportunity for the entire region
With Gijón and Vigo dropping out of the race to host the 2030 World Cup, Riazor will become the candidate for all of Galicia, as well as the entire northwest of the peninsula, including Asturias, part of Castilla y León, and even northern Portugal. The stadium would serve a potential target audience of 6 million people, similar to the population of Madrid and its surrounding areas.
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