Overview
- Municipal documents published for public information on Thursday show the city reduced sport-designated buildability to about 89,000 m2 and reallocated roughly 276,000 m2 to private equipment and 172,550 m2 to tertiary uses, raising total permitted edificability to about 532,000 m2.
- A Savills viability report filed in the dossier values the developable rights after the change at about €360.09 million and records a theoretical uplift of roughly €185.49 million versus the prior sports-only entitlement.
- The valuation measures buildable rights per square metre and does not equal immediate cash; the club would still face urbanization charges (Savills estimates >€1.2bn in construction costs and about €73.5m in urbanization charges) and must deliver 5% of the increment in edificability (≈17,400 m2) to the administration.
- Municipal planning papers set urbanization to begin in 2028, construction from 2029 and first promoter revenues projected in 2031, with full stabilization expected over decades and final approvals by the city and regional governments still pending.
- The move revives a 2001 precedent and has drawn sharp political criticism from opposition parties who call it preferential treatment for the club, while supporters cite underused land in Valdebebas and project potential local jobs, new services and long-term tax and public-space gains.