who owns the stadiums and how much clubs pay for rent | Relief

Spanish football makes a lot of money, but most of their clubs don’t have a stadium. There is great inequality. While some are going into debt to invest billions of euros in renovating their facilities (see Real Madrid or Barcelona), others are committing much smaller sums to stadiums they don’t own and for which they have to pay rent .

In the current EA Sports LaLiga, only six clubs own their stadiums: Atlético Madrid, Espanyol, Real Betis, Real Madrid, Sevilla and Valencia. There are others 13 state-owned stadiums. Ten belong to the municipalities in which they are located (Barcelona, ​​Getafe, Girona, Leganes, Palma, San Sebastian, Vigo, Valladolid, Vila Real and Vitoria), two belong to the autonomous communities (Osasuna and Rayo Vallecano) and one from the Cabildo Gran Canaries (UD Las Palmas). And there is one (San Mames) whose ownership is mixed and distributed between public and private institutions.

Among the teams playing at the state stadium is Barcelona, ​​but this is a temporary situation. Barcelona owns Camp Nouwhich is under reconstruction and which he intends to return to by the end of the year. Meanwhile, leases the Montjuïc Olympic Stadium to Barcelona City Council at a price that before the transfer was estimated to be around 20 million euros. But neither side has released an exact figure.

Those who paid for the reforms

The usual mechanism for granting the right to use the stadium: administrative assignment or agreement allowing the club to use it. In return, they usually take care of the repairs and renovations and pay a fee, although this is not always the case. In some cases the agreements are public, but in others both owners and clubs keep them secret.

An example of a public stadium renovation undertaken by a club in recent years is El Sadar, whose renovation was paid for by Osasuna during the pandemic. In 2015, debts forced the club to hand over the stadium and sports city to the Navarrean government, which in return gave it the use of both premises. Osasuna really invested 23 million euros in its transformation.

The same thing happened with the Estadio de la Cerámica stadium, on which Villarreal recently spent about 70 million euros to renovate.. The reform of Son Mua, whose concession was extended until 2064 two years ago, has cost Mallorca nearly $30 million. The original 1997 agreement included a fee of 5% of revenue generated from non-football activities. Getafe will also take responsibility for the reconstruction of the Coliseum after reaching an agreement with the city council in 2022 to hand over the stadium for 40 years. In addition, the Madrid club will have to pay 150,000 euros annually.

Real Sociedad contributed almost everything that Anoeta’s reform cost (82% of the 78.6 million). In exchange, the concession signed in 1993 was extended until 2067 and the amount paid would be reflected as a fee. Alaves will pay 120 thousand euros Canon Mendizorroza, whose concession has been extended until 2029. Real Valladolid has been negotiating with the city council for a new concession for some time. this allows him to renovate the stadium and build a new sports city. The latest plans, which have now been shelved, included an investment of more than €50 million and an annual fee of €224,000.

The case with Athletic is the most unique in all of La Liga. San Mames is owned by San Mames Barria SL, a company owned by the club, Kutxabank, the Basque Government, the Vizcaya Provincial Council and the Bilbao City Council.. Athletic paid about 50 million of the 189 million it cost and has a 50-year concession under which it pays an annual fee that is updated by the consumer price index. In the 2022-2023 season, according to his data, he paid 574,836.63 euros in rent. The concession includes an option to purchase 66 million in 2063.

Those who did not pay for the reforms

Other clubs have not paid for the renovation of their stadiums. This is the case of Celta and Balaidos. The renovation of the Vigo stadium, the last part of which has not yet been completed, is being financed by the city council and the provincial council. Celta Vigo and Concello are in talks a new 50-year occupancy license that will allow the club to operate the stadium in a way it has not done before.

The University of Las Palmas also failed to pay for its own renovation several years ago and will not pay for a second one that will begin next year. The Gran Canaria stadium will be renovated to host matches of the 2030 FIFA World Cup. It will cost around 100 million euros, which will be paid by the Gran Canaria Cabildo, the owner of the stadium. The agreement between the parties is valid until 2027. involves the club paying up to €435,000 a year for use and maintenance, although it receives much more in sponsorship from the Cabildo..

The reconstruction of the Vallecas stadium will be carried out by its owner, the Community of Madrid: work worth 2 million euros is planned in 2025. Until 2019, when the transfer agreement was extended for 20 years (plus another 10 with the possibility of extension), Rayo did not pay a fee for the use of the Vallecano stadium.. Since then he has paid €81,784.84, a figure that is updated every five years.

What is the situation in other leagues?

The Spanish league is halfway between the five main European leagues. Private ownership of stadiums is more widespread than in Italy and France, but less common than in Germany and England.. These two leagues have more private stadiums than public ones.

In England, where there is a long tradition of club-owned stadiums, Almost all Premier League teams are owned. There are only two clubs that use 100% public stadiums and pay rent: Manchester City and West Ham.

Club owned by Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan. received the right to operate the stadium for 250 years. in exchange for a fixed amount of 2.4 million euros, which is adjusted for inflation and other variables. In addition, he took upon himself the renovation of the premises, the last of which is still ongoing.

West Ham have a similar agreement to play at the London Olympic Stadium.. Since leaving the Boleyn Ground, he has paid €18 million to adapt the stadium and pays rent each season, which is also linked to inflation.

The opposite extreme are Italy and France, where the strange thing is that the club owns the stadium where they play.. In the current Serie A, only Atalanta, Juventus and Udinese own stadiums. There are only two of them in Ligue 1: Lyon and Auxerre. Lille Stadium is also privately owned, but owned by a construction company.