Zaragoza to try luck with new venue again!

Article posted by Coliseum, August 8^th, 2022

Image: Real Zaragoza

After three futile attempts, the Segunda División club Real Zaragoza has decided to again try its luck and build a new stadium in the City of Zaragoza in Spain in the place of the present one – Estadio La Romareda.

‘Heraldo’ stated that though there was opposition to the above proposal, but the support for the same outweighed the opposition with the Christian-democratic political party -People’s Party – the liberal political party – Citizens Party – the national-conservative political party – Vox – and the Left-wing populist political party – Podemos – giving their thumbs-up to the new venue plans. Though there were no votes against the said proposal, but the Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party (PSOE) and the ZEC abstained themselves from the voting process and cast their doubts as to how well the planned stadium would serve the purpose of a World Cup venue.

Real Zaragoza, S.A.D., commonly referred to as Zaragoza, is a football club based in Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain, that currently competes in the Segunda División, the second tier of the Spanish league system. Zaragoza holds its home games at La Romareda.

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The Estadio La Romareda is the home stadium of Real Zaragoza in Zaragoza, Spain. It was inaugurated on September 8^th, 1957, with a game between Real Zaragoza and the LaLiga club CA Osasuna. The official capacity is 33,608, with an average attendance of around 20,000 for Real Zaragoza matches.

‘Heraldo’ further stated that though the above proposal was met with almost unanimous support and an agreement was reached on citizens’ participation in the stadium-building process, nevertheless, there was tension simmering with the DGA deciding not to allow the Councilor for Urban Planning, Víctor Serrano, to be the interlocutor before the Spanish Football Federation for the 2030 World Cup hardselling exercise. This was the only point of contention which made the whole climate a little hostile.

The 2030 FIFA World Cup™ will be the 24^th FIFA World Cup™, a quadrennial international football tournament contested by the men’s national teams of the member- associations of FIFA. The event will mark the centennial of the first World Cup.

FIFA is yet to officially release the official bid requirements for the 2030 World Cup, but Spain and Portugal are planning for a tournament with 48 nations, similar to the one in 2026 in the United States, Canada and México. FIFA is expected to select the 2030 World Cup host nations in 2024.

Serrano welcomed the decision to build a new venue in the place of Estadio La Romareda. He also said that the new venue proposal is being backed by the Bilbao (Spain)-based multinational corporation IDOM which said that the site will fit into FIFA World Cup venue specifications.

It was also suggested that another 10,000-capacity venue be built to meet the needs of women’s football as well as support other sports.

Serrano assured that another venue would be built for the above purpose in tandem with the Aragonese Football Federation and other institutions.

The Aragonese Football Federation is the governing body of the sport of football in Aragon, Spain.

The PSOE opposed the above proposal tooth and nail and termed it as a “pre-poll gimmick” by the Mayor of Zaragoza, Jorge Azcón.

Serrano said that the Socialists were hell bent on derailing the project.

The ZEC said that it was in favor of revamping Estadio La Romareda rather than building a new arena in its place on the same site. The ZEC spokesperson, Pedro Santisteve, asserted that remodeling the present venue is enough rather than building a new stadium.

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