Braga City Council has placed Estádio Municipal de Braga, home of Portuguese Primeira Liga football club SC Braga, up for sale.
Público first revealed the news with the distinctive stadium, developed on the side of a rock face of a former quarry, having first opened in December 2003 ahead of being used as a venue for Portugal’s staging of UEFA Euro 2004.
Ricardo Rio, Mayor of Braga and President of the City Council, recently confirmed that the circa 30,000-capacity stadium cost around €200m (£173.4m/$211m) to develop. With the club only paying €500 per month to rent the venue, and improvements needed, the Council has now decided to cut its ties to the facility.
Rio told Rádio Universidade do Minho: “There is no set value, but the municipality has had some contact with the (SC) Braga administration, including the new shareholder (Qatar Sports Investments).
“The dialogue has opened, therefore, now, we are going to… formally make an assessment of the value at which the stadium could be sold. It only makes sense for the stadium to be used by Braga.
“I do not intend to demand the €200m that was invested in this facility, but, obviously, an amount that allows the City Council to be reimbursed and, for example, to make other projects viable, including the rehabilitation of the Estádio 1º de Maio, which… after these years of abandonment, has ended up suffering very rapid degradation.”
SC Braga commenced work on the construction of Estádio Centenário, a new 2,600-seat stadium that will serve as the home of its women’s team, back in May.
The stadium, which is scheduled for completion at the start of the 2024-25 season, will also host matches played by Braga’s men’s B team.
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