open war between Municipality of A Coruña and Deportivo for the agreement of the stadium of the Riazor. The president of the sports entity owned by Abanca, Antonio Couceiro, denounced at a press conference that the City hall intends to charge for the use of the stadium at the “worst moment” in the club’s history. The great point of contention is the name of the stadium (Abanca Riazor), which the Local government wants it to return to the coffers of the Municipality and not in the financing of the club. The mayoress, Inés Rey, He responded on a local radio and in a harsh tone to the blue and white president. At first, he pointed out that in no case would the team be charged for the use of municipal facilities. Two hours later, at the inauguration of the oil jetty of punta langosteira and to questions from journalists, he did acknowledge that “another thing” is the commercial use of the name of Riazor: “If what he wants Deportivo is that the name happens to be used by a bank for commercial purposes of a bank, that cannot be free”.
He Depor been enjoying for free or for a token amount of the use of Riazor since 1944, but Municipality of A Coruña It wants this situation to change, according to the Coruña entity, which rejects this new course head-on. “After months of unsuccessful technical meetings, on February 13 the mayoress informed me in an informal communication that the Municipality wants to charge the Royal Sports Club for the use of the stadium, something that had never happened to date in A Coruña“, advanced the president Antonio Couceiro before expressing the feeling of the entity: “If the transfer of the stadium were onerous for the Deporwill constitute a historical injustice for the Depor and an inadmissible discrimination regarding the teams with which we have to compete”.
“He Deportivo is in the worst financial and sporting situation in its history and not only does it not receive Municipality, but that they intend to generate income”, he assured, while focusing the problem so that there is an understanding for a new agreement, beyond 2025. “We are told that the problem is that they do not want to give away the commercial name of the stadium for free, which does not make any town hall. He we It is one more asset of all the clubs, which collect income for it. It would be abnormal and would have a negative impact,” she said this morning.
He Depor For the moment, he does not propose any plan B and does not hide his “concern”, but he is committed to understanding. “I want to convey my deep concern about this fact, which would mean increasing the losses that the Deportivo for being out of professional football and in the financially difficult years that are expected in the return to the elite. I hope that he reconsiders and that he give himself to the Deportivo the treatment that it has historically received and that the other clubs also receive”.
The answer tone of mayor of A Coruña, Inés Rey, was very far from the “reconsideration” that Antonio Couceiro, president of the club chosen by Abanca, demanded. On a local radio he stated that it is a “lie” that the City hall want to charge the Deportivo for the use of the Riazor stadium. Rey explained that on November 4, 2021, the City Council sent the Deportivo an agreement proposal that, according to the councilor, at no time includes any claim to the club to pay for using the stadium. The mayor recalled that the Deportivo It is a club without its own stadium and uses a municipal facility for free. “And he will continue to use it for free,” he added. Ines Rey. “He does not pay anything, he is not going to pay anything, and at no time has it been included in that agreement that he has to pay,” says the councilor, who has publicly urged to the president of Deportivo to respond to that 2021 agreement proposal since, as stated, the club has not responded.
He did not say anything at that time about the destination of the income from the commercial name of the stadium. Yes, he did it hours later at the inauguration of the state-of-the-art oil pontoon Lobsteran act in which he coincided with cook. Asked directly by journalists, Rey recognized that “if what the Deportivo it is that the name happens to be used by a bank for commercial purposes of a bank, that cannot be free, firstly because it is not logical and secondly because it is not legal”. Municipal sources insist that if there is an exploitation of municipal facilities , “will have to do so by charging the bank or the company that gives its name to the stadium.”
