Vallecas Stadium: Rayo can return, but the concession termination remains under way

The Vallecas Stadium case is moving forward on two fronts. The provisional suspension of the concession has been lifted, allowing Rayo Vallecano to play again at its usual ground on 10 October against Athletic Club. At the same time, the procedure aimed at definitively ending the concession continues and now depends only on the opinion of the Legal Commission.

Speaking to the press, Madrid’s councillor for Culture and Tourism, Mariano de Paco, said he expects that opinion “within 20 days to a month”. According to him, it would be the final formality before the decision is implemented.

De Paco said a transitional period would then be put in place: Rayo could continue to play at the stadium until a new concession holder takes over. That future operator would also have to ensure that the club can retain use of the venue should it wish to do so, in exchange for a fee to be set through a “separate agreement”.

The councillor sought to rule out the prospect of an enforced departure, saying that “Rayo will only leave Vallecas if the club takes it away”. He nonetheless regretted the “conflict” between the Community of Madrid, which owns the stadium, and Rayo Vallecano, its concession holder under a direct award on grounds of “general interest”. De Paco believes that the club’s president, Raúl Martín Presa, no longer defends that concept, instead prioritising his “sporting and economic” interest.

According to the councillor, the club’s poor maintenance of the stadium forced Rayo to play its first matches of the current Liga campaign in Leganés. On 27 July, the Community of Madrid had provisionally suspended the administrative concession to allow urgent work at a venue whose condition “compromised safety and operations”.

De Paco also considers that Rayo is “not capable of being the manager” of the stadium. If it remained responsible for maintenance, he warned, the venue “would be back in the same condition in six months”.

According to him, the future concession will have to meet two requirements: safeguard the general interest, including Rayo Vallecano’s use of the stadium, and fund the renovation planned by the Community of Madrid, estimated at €60 million. That comprehensive redevelopment project includes increasing capacity to 18,500 spectators, building a new stand and creating an adjoining multifunctional building directly connected to the venue.