The dilemma of Cagliari's new stadium hasn't yet reached the City Council, but the conflict is already underway.
The pre-debate controversy was sparked by a post by opposition councilor Giuseppe Farris, who attacked Massimo Zedda's administration, calling it "a €200 million project, not just any resolution, held in secret." The CiviCa24 representative asserted the council's jurisdiction over the approval of the financial plan presented by the Rossoblu club.
Sports Councillor Giuseppe Macciotta responded: "The city council has no jurisdiction over the PEF, which is fully authorized by the City Council and the relevant offices."
Farris attacked: "On Friday, along with all the group leaders, I signed a request for a debate on the status of the new stadium project. A project about which we've read, for almost two years, reassuring statements from the Zedda administration. Announcements. Certainties. Triumphant tones. But the truth is revolutionary: the Economic and Financial Planning Document was submitted in December. The Council has the authority to approve it, but it's March and it still hasn't arrived in the chamber."
Yet, the lawyer emphasizes, "Councilor Macciotta told us that in a few months he had accomplished what had been impossible to achieve in years. The mayor then stated that its completion was certain. If that's the case, why was the City Council left out?" With the motion, "we are imposing what should have been expected: putting the paperwork before the Council and, therefore, before the city."
The friendly exchange unfolded beneath the post. Macciotta, reaffirming the Council's jurisdiction over the matter, announced: "After two months of careful, thorough, and impartial investigation to protect the public interest, the Council deemed it appropriate to inform the Council of the current findings of that investigation and to encourage a democratic debate in the chamber on the status of the investigations completed."
On Tuesday, the mayor and Macciotta himself will "illustrate the status of the investigation, and a debate will take place in the following days. I am certain," the councilor continues, "that you will be able to acknowledge the quality of the council's work, the rigor that inspired its actions, and the clarity of the findings we have reached following rigorous checks and discussions characterized by a firm and uncompromising position. Then, together, we will summarize this complex investigation in order to hopefully reach a shared solution regarding the stadium's future, in the exclusive interest of the citizens."
The sticking points are: Cagliari's desire to acquire the surface rights to the area on which the facility will be built, the rent considered too low, and the management of the parking lots that will need to be built. But it is not excluded that other obstacles have arisen.