Real Madrid President Florentino Pérez has been "caught on camera apparently revealing the future name of the club's revamped stadium as either 'IPIC Bernabeu' or 'CEPSA Bernabeu,'" according to Iain Rogers of REUTERS. Real last month agreed to a strategic partnership with Abu Dhabi fund Int'l Petroleum Investment Co. that will "help finance a planned stadium overhaul" costing around €400M ($502M) and due to be completed by '17. IPIC's holdings include Spanish energy firm CEPSA and Perez was "captured on the sidelines of an event" on Tuesday saying, "We are going to put IPIC Bernabeu or whatever they want ... or CEPSA Bernabeu." The project, to "add a striking new
roof and exterior to the current structure and include a hotel and a
shopping centre, is meant to help the world's richest club" boost revenue.
However, a
Madrid court has "thrown the plans into doubt by ruling that a deal
between Real and the Madrid council, which would allow land adjacent to
the stadium to be incorporated into the work, should be suspended
because the European Commission is examining it for possible illegal
state aid." Perez "did not
reveal what the revamped stadium would be called when the
IPIC deal was
announced" but said the agreement marked "the start of a long journey and
the beginning of a strong partnership" (
REUTERS, 11/19).
