Raúl Martín Presa insists that Rayo Vallecano needs a new stadium. The club is working to find a suitable site, and the president wants the arena to have 30,000 seats with the potential for expansion.

A new video scoreboard for Rayo… that wants to move

Following last year’s works, the Community of Madrid is continuing with the modernisation and refurbishment of Estadio de Vallecas. Specifically, work has begun on dismantling the old scoreboard, which will be replaced by a modern one.

In total, the regional government has allocated €2M for the works at Rayo Vallecano’s stadium. It is also considering expanding it to accommodate up to 20,000 spectators. Meanwhile, the Rayo supporters’ clubs have commissioned a project proposing the complete reconstruction of the ground. But the club’s management intends to move.

© MM Groundhopping | The scoreboard has been a symbol of Estadio de Vallecas for the past few decades.

Specifically, it is the club’s president and owner, Raúl Martín Presa, who insists on leaving Estadio de Vallecas. In his view, the stadium is holding back the club’s growth, as it is small and outdated. That is why, he explains, a new one must be built. He explained this once again on the Resonancia del Corazón podcast.

The Regional Government wants to refurbish the ground, but we believe there is no refurbishment that can adapt the ground to the situation we need. It is very difficult to make any alterations in Vallecas and it will cost a great deal of money. To talk of a complete refurbishment… to refurbish a stadium completely is to demolish it and rebuild it. But the fact is that the stadium we want won’t fit in that space, he stated.

“A new stadium is the only way forward”

In fact, the board is already looking for a site. Rayo wants to build new facilities in Puente de Vallecas and, if that’s not possible, somewhere as close as possible, said the president of Rayo Vallecano, emphasising that the stadium must be owned by Rayo.

But this is precisely what is causing opposition among the fans: it is unlikely that a new stadium will fit in Vallecas. And Rayo supporters cannot imagine Rayo Vallecano outside of the neighborhood of Vallecas.

However, Raúl Martín Presa argued that a new stadium is the only way forward for Rayo. We need a ground with a capacity of around 30,000 spectators and with scope for expansion, he said.

© Stephan Hoogerwaard | Estadio de Vallecas has a capacity of 14,708 seats.