Zaragoza (EFE) to aspire to become one of the venues for the 2030 Soccer World Cup.
This has been confirmed by the municipal councilor for Urban Planning and Facilities, Víctor Serrano, for whom the implementation of this process, with the approval by the Government of the specifications for the project, constitutes an “important” day for the residents of the city of Zaragoza after the complex negotiations carried out.
The specifications have been approved one day after the plenary session of the Zaragoza City Council gave the green light to the necessary urban modification to undertake the works. Serrano has highlighted that they establish a term of right of use of the total area to intervene, 47,399 square meters corresponding to the current sports area and 20,500 more buildable, for 75 years and a budget of 36 million.
A term, he has specified, that can be “improvable” downwards by potential bidders, who during the construction process of the new field will have a grace period to pay the city council the use fee that they raise in their respective offers, from which it will increase each year by 0.8%.
Five million for demolition
Of the total budget established in the specifications, more than 5 million corresponds to the demolition work prior to undertaking before the construction of the new football field begins, during which time Real Zaragoza will be able to use the facilities of the current Romareda for their sports competitions.
Serrano explained that the approved document establishes, as guarantee clauses, the payment of deposits of 1% at the beginning of the works and 5% on the course construction process, as well as, following the recommendation of the municipal intervention, the requirement of a guarantee in the event that the winning company mortgages the right to the surface in order to guarantee the completion of the works.
Regarding the deadlines, he stressed that the offers may be submitted until September 15, a period to which four more months will be added for the presentation of the basic project and demolitions, and another six for the final projects, which would guarantee the start of the works in the second half of next year.
The City Council “does not lose control”
Serrano has insisted that the Zaragoza City Council “is not going to lose control” over the construction of the new stadium, not only with a clause in this regard that agrees to the appointment of a municipal official in charge of supervising the process, but with another that offers to the consistory the power to celebrate three cultural or sports events a year, “respecting the sports calendar of Real Zaragoza”.
He has indicated that the specifications establish a minimum capacity of 42,500 seats, with at least a total of 40,000 for the celebration of sporting events, as established by FIFA, with whose evaluators municipal officials will meet on April 19 to assess the offer of the city to host the 2030 World Cup.
In any case, he added, these conditions could be improved upwards, with higher scores for the offers that present a greater capacity, a higher canon or a unique architectural project, everything, he stressed, “done with the greatest technical and legal rigor to achieve a 4-star quality football pitch”.
The horizon for the completion of the works, if they begin in the second half of next year, is set for the years 2028 or 2029, with enough time to host the 2030 World Cup.