Florentino Pérez will seek permission to obtain credit to cover redevelopment costs at Santiago Bernabéu.GETTY IMAGES
Following "four years of reviewing architects, negotiations with institutions and the search for finance," the project to redevelop Real Madrid's Santiago Bernabéu "is taking major steps forward," according to Juan Ignacio García-Ochoa of MARCA. At a meeting on Sept. 23, club President Florentino Pérez "will ask members for permission to obtain credit to cover the costs" and, shortly afterward, the works will begin. They "should get underway before the end of the year" and they will last three or four years (MARCA, 9/8). In Madrid, Marco Ruiz reported having "failed to secure the sponsorship money needed" for the remodeling of the stadium, Pérez "is now proposing to put the club in enormous debt to finance the works," which are expected to cost between €400M ($464M) and €500M ($580M). In line with the club’s statues, Pérez "must ask the permission of the club’s 92,000 members" before "taking on such a huge debt," and has "already been given the green light" to proceed. According to a statement released by the club, the next step "will be seeking the approval at an extraordinary assembly meeting" on Sept. 23 (AS, 9/8).
