Real Valladolid stadium project suspended

Plans to expand the Estadio José Zorrilla, home of Spanish LaLiga football club Real Valladolid, have been put on hold by the city council.

The council said the decision has been made to ensure “democratic neatness” following the recent election process.

Acting Mayor Óscar Puente has left the decision in the hands of Mayor-elect Jesús Julio Carnero, who has proposed a project that is not in line with the club’s vision.

In March, the council approved a new concession deal with Real Valladolid that would cover the redevelopment of the José Zorrilla and the expansion of the club’s sports city project.

Under the agreement, Real would pay €224,563 (£193,000/$241,000) per year to be the anchor tenant of the city-owned stadium for 50 years, on the basis of a required investment of €48.7m in the redevelopment work.

David Espinar, presidential adviser at Real, later revealed more details of the club’s plans, with around €40m to be spent on improving the stadium itself. Plans include a new roof that will cover three of the stands, and a new upper south stand that will bring capacity at the José Zorrilla up to between 30,000 and 32,000.

The stadium currently houses just shy of 28,000 fans. In 2018, Brazilian football legend Ronaldo became the new majority owner of Real, which is 18th in the table going into this weekend’s final round of fixtures.