A building permit that cannot be granted and a proposed rent that is too low: these are the obstacles that have stalled the process leading to the construction of Cagliari's new stadium. The obstacles were highlighted by the city's Sports Councilor, Giuseppe Macciotta, who responded to two questions regarding the progress of the process, following the submission of Cagliari Calcio's financial plan in December. This document outlines a total cost of over €218 million, which would involve the city granting the club a fifty-year building permit on the site of the future Gigi Riva stadium, in exchange for a payment of €50,000 per year.
"These are obvious critical issues," explains Zedda, "which, if not addressed, will impede the Municipality's adherence to the Economic and Financial Planning Scheme." The risk? A setback.
Macciotta, in response to opposition city councilor Giuseppe Farris (Civica24), explained that the possibility of a surface right—which would be useful to the club in negotiations with the banks— "does not appear in any way compatible with the public interest pursued, effectively resulting in the Municipality's unavailability of the area and the surrounding land." Ownership of the property, the councilor's response continues, "would revert to the Municipality only after 50 years, with the potential harm resulting from its possible exposure to expropriation by the financiers, for whom a mortgage guarantee could be granted."
According to Macciotta, the municipality is opting only for a "use permit" and wants to retain ownership of the area. And in any case, the €50,000 per year rent should be revised upwards.
Two intricate knots that will need to be untied as soon as possible.
Farris accused the City Council of a lack of transparency: "The PEF should have been promptly forwarded to the City Council, the competent body for review . And yet, what does the City Council do? They hold it back for a couple of months, launch an investigation in blissful solitude, and speak directly with the proponent. The result? The Council will receive a PEF pre-packaged by the Council, not the one submitted by Cagliari Calcio. This is not institutional collaboration," the opposition representative concluded, "it bypasses the city council."
Macciotta responded indirectly to this objection in response to a question from majority city councilor Boero: "The preliminary assessment of the PEF is the exclusive responsibility of the person responsible for the procedure and the council, not the city council , which intervenes exclusively on the declaration of public interest," the councilor explained. "Therefore, there is no oversight by the city council, but rather compliance with the rules. The city administration will not allow the granting of the surface rights and will insist on a more appropriate concession fee."