Madrid council admits error in Real Madrid site rezoning study, revenue cited at 98.6 million euros

The error in the revenue study

Madrid's city council has acknowledged a "material error" in the economic study behind the rezoning of the Real Madrid City of Sport site at Valdebebas. The viability report was prepared by the consultancy Savills, which was hired at the end of June for 8,700 euros, according to El País. The study shows projected public revenue rising from 1.46 million euros a year to 98.6 million, and El País traced the jump to a multiplication mistake. Cadena SER and El País broke the figures on Monday morning. The council says the mistake will be corrected by the municipal administration and that it does not change the urban planning, but it has not said how the correction will be made.

Figure before the error, per El País1.46

Figure in the study, per El País98.6

Figure before the error, per El País

1.46 million euros per year

Figure in the study, per El País

98.6 million euros per year

Data from the article text

Opposition attack

Más Madrid spokesperson Rita Maestre called the rezoning a "pelotazo" at a press conference on Monday, 26 October. She said Mayor José Luis Martínez-Almeida and Real Madrid president Florentino Pérez had struck a deal of that kind, and she pointed to an area of 448,000 square metres at Valdebebas that the council granted the club. Maestre also described the council as a cash machine for large companies. She said the value of the land had risen from 70 million euros to 360 million.

“Florentino Pérez is going to pocket more than 250 million euros at the expense of all Madrilians.”

Maestre argued that the public land at stake belongs to every resident of the capital, which is why she framed the revised figures as a transfer to the club.

What the council says

Mayor Martínez-Almeida has admitted the "error" but said it "does not frustrate the operation", according to La Vanguardia. A spokesperson for the council's urban planning area described the mistake in similar terms.

“It is a typo that will be corrected, but it does not change the urban planning.”

El País reported that the council has not explained whether the correction requires a new report, delays the process, or forces another round of public consultation. The error also changes much of the data on which residents filed their objections, even though the plans themselves are unchanged.

Land value and the project

The project, called Madrid Innovation District, covers a site of 120 hectares, of which 35 hold the Real Madrid City of Sport and 85 are undeveloped. Deputy spokesperson Inma Sanz said the council wants to turn the area into a technology innovation centre that would make Madrid the Silicon Valley of southern Europe by 2035. La Vanguardia estimates that Real Madrid stands to gain about 300 million euros from the land uplift and its later sale. The same report recalls that courts had already blocked the car park works and the Bernabéu concerts.

Before rezoning, per Más Madrid70

After rezoning, per Más Madrid360

Before rezoning, per Más Madrid

70 million euros

After rezoning, per Más Madrid

360 million euros

Data from the article text

What comes next

The modified plan must be presented again and approved, and La Vanguardia's sources say the governing PP holds a majority in the council. The change then goes to the plenary for provisional approval and to the Community of Madrid for final clearance. Opposition appeals to the Tribunal Superior de Justicia de Madrid are expected, and according to the same sources they have a good chance of succeeding. The planned urbanisation works run from 2028 to 2030, and construction of the innovation centre and other buildings is scheduled for 2029 to 2035.