The mayor of Napoli Gaetano Manfredi has opened up to the possibility of selling the Maradona stadium, but only under certain conditions.
Article Key Points
“At the moment – said Manfredi – it is not possible to sell the stadium because it is part of the unavailable assets. However, if a sale proposal were to arrive, we are ready to evaluate it.
But it has to be a project concrete, with real investments that they want to put into play, and with respect for the fans". Manfredi underlined that at the moment no proposal has ever arrived from the Soccer Naples.
However, he added, "we are ready to evaluate any proposals, while keeping in mind that we cannot give away the stadium because it is an asset for Naples and the Neapolitans, it is a public good." Therefore, Manfredi highlighted the need for the economic proposal to be commensurate with the real value of the asset: "If the company makes a large investment, we can discuss it."
Furthermore, Manfredi he specified that a project must respect "two important conditions":
The stadium must have the characteristics to host international competitions, first and foremost the European Championships. It must be large enough for Neapolitans to go to the stadium: a very small and very expensive stadium will preclude the possibility of going to the stadium to watch the match.
The decision to sell is still up to the City Council. And, in the short term, it is not currently feasible because the stadium is part of the unavailable assets.
In the immediate future, Manfredi added, we can think about “a long-term, fifty-year concession, in exchange for significant investments by the club”. “This – Manfredi recalled – has been done in other parts of Italy. The main thing is to protect the fans’ investment”.
“We need to have a quality and accessible stadium.
The important thing is to have a serious project, then we will evaluate it,” he concluded.
The conditions that Mayor Manfredi sets for the sale of the Maradona stadium are the following:
Economic proposal commensurate with the real value of the property. Project that includes significant investments to make the stadium suitable for hosting international competitions and accessible to fans.
If these conditions are met, Mayor Manfredi is willing to evaluate a sale proposal.
@All rights reserved
Article published on November 30, 2023 - 14:11
