Chilean first division side Universidad de Chile's promise of a new stadium "appears more likely than ever," but problems at the Laguna Carén site "generated a new barrier" for the club's dream, according to CNN CHILE. Now an area in Santiago's La Pintana commune "is the bet of club officials, despite doubts generated by the fact that the surrounding neighborhoods are dominated by fans of the team's archrival Colo Colo." A '14 survey showed that "in south Santiago, 46% of fans support Colo Colo -- double the amount of Universidad fans." Another "point of discussion involves the time it would take to travel to a new venue, as it takes an hour to drive from the center of Santiago to the site." The club's current home, Estadio Nacional, "is 25 minutes from downtown Santiago" (CNN CHILE, 10/1). BIO BIO CHILE's Iván Oliveros reported the "ambitious promise" Univ. de Chile President Carlos Heller made when he took over as president "remains at the businessman's feet." Due to the "many difficulties that have presented themselves at Laguna Carén," La Pintana is the "new big option for the old dream of the fanbase: its own stadium." To buy land in La Pintana, "prices have dropped considerably," and it would now cost half as much to build there compared to the Laguna Carén site. Heller: "We were seeing in Carén that it was getting away from us, so we looked at other options and we found a very good one at La Pintana, where they want to have us. I cannot say the place until we sign and Carén is in the running, but it is always better to have two horses to run; if one falls you have the other to steady yourself." Heller added, "Between now and December we will know which of the two horses will keep running. I hope the fans will be calm: the construction of a stadium is not in danger" (BIO BIO CHILE, 9/30).
