The cards are already on the table. Although the PP-Cs has long announced its commitment to build the city’s new soccer field at its current location, this Tuesday, the town councilor, Víctor Serrano, made it clear that there was no other possible option. The groups will debate the proposal on Friday in an extraordinary commission of the region, where a report prepared with the conclusions of the listening process that took place in the city council in May and June will be analyzed and which, among other issues, determines that the 71.4% of participants opted for La Romareda. Thus, for the mayor, “to mount a file in another direction would be an insult” to all that previous work.
For Serrano, it is time for the parties to decide definitively on this file, especially since the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) has established a timetable that it is essential to follow if you wish. Zaragoza continue to have the potential to be one of the venues for the 2030 World Cup, which Spain and Portugal aspire to jointly host. At the latest, in the first days of September, the location should be determined, but the intention of the municipal government is that the decision will be made this month, so next week it will also be voted on in plenary.
The councilor listed the advantages of La Romareda compared to the Parking Norte option, which is the one defended by the municipal group of Podemos, or Valdespartera, the third favorite. “It is not only a quantitative problem but a qualitative one, it has reached an overwhelming majority”, assured. According to what emerged from the participatory process, of the three, it is the place closest to the citizen, with “determined mobility”, the most sustainable and the one with the most attached equipment (the Auditorium, the Hospital Miguel Servet and the Clinic, a fire station and local police station).
Likewise, Serrano indicated, despite the criticism of the purple formation which considers that the available space is not sufficient to build a first category stadium, that “meets the requirements of the Federation and FIFA” and that this is the option that would entail a lower cost of urbanization. Likewise, he pointed out that, as the economic associations that came to give their opinion to the town hall said, the economic return would be greater because it is a space surrounded by commerce and hospitality.
Specifically, according to the report, of the 49 entities that participated in the listening process, 35 chose to build the new stadium at its current location, while seven, 14.2%, opted for the Expo North car park. Four others indicated Valdespartera, two of them did not indicate an exact preference and one opted for the district of San José. Among those who preferred La Romareda, the mayor highlighted the Aragonese Football Federation and the Royal Zaragozatwo agents who will be key in the bid to be one of the World Cup venues.