Mayor warns over Romareda funding shortfall

Natalia Chueca, the mayor of Zaragoza, said on May 24 that work on the New Romareda stadium would be halted if Real Zaragoza failed to deliver the money it has committed to the project. In comments published by Heraldo de Aragón, Chueca said the city council and the Aragón regional government, known as the DGA, would not allow the stadium to be left half-built. The warning came as Real Zaragoza’s sporting crisis has intensified and scrutiny has grown over how much public money is backing the redevelopment. The project is being carried out through La Nueva Romareda SL, a company owned by the Zaragoza city council, the Aragón government and the club. ### What exactly did Chueca say about stopping the works? Heraldo de Aragón reported on May 24 that Chueca said: if the club’s millions for the new Romareda do not arrive, the DGA and the city council will not leave the ground “a mitad,” or half-finished. The remark marked a harder public line than her comments earlier in May, when she said she had no reason to think the club would fail to meet its obligations. (heraldo.es) On May 11, Chueca told reporters that Real Zaragoza still had 5 million euros left to pay in 2026, followed by 12 million euros in 2027 and 7 million euros in 2028. She said then that the club’s relegation risk had been contemplated in the shareholder pact and in the stadium-use agreement. (heraldo.es) ### How is the stadium financed? La Nueva Romareda SL has three partners: the Zaragoza city council, the Government of Aragón and Real Zaragoza. Aragón Digital reported in March, citing city hall figures, that the club had already paid 16 million euros in total, including 10 million euros in 2025, and still had 24 million euros left under the revised schedule. The same report put the public contribution at about 120 million euros of a roughly 160 million euro operation. (elperiodicodearagon.com) El Periódico de Aragón reported on Dec. 30, 2025, that Real Zaragoza made its 10 million euro payment for 2025 one day before the deadline. The newspaper said the club used direct shareholder contributions after weeks of uncertainty over how it would raise the money. (aragondigital.es) ### Why has the funding question become more sensitive? The Chamber of Accounts of Aragón said in a report published in May that the stadium will cost “at least” 173.2 million euros once related expenses borne by public bodies are counted. El Español, citing that report, said the figure exceeds the amount initially projected by the company and does not include every possible additional need before completion. (elperiodicodearagon.com) The same report said the project depends heavily on public funds after the payment schedule was revised following Real Zaragoza’s non-payment in 2024. That has made the club’s future contributions a central issue in the broader political debate around the project. (elespanol.com) ### What protections are in place if a partner does not pay? Roberto Bermúdez de Castro, Aragón’s finance minister, said in June 2025 that the shareholder agreement had been revised to add penalty clauses for partners that fail to make their required contributions. He also said the changes imposed tighter rules on decision-making and on share transfers among the partners. (elespanol.com) Those provisions were introduced as the public partners sought to make the company more resilient while the financing calendar was being reset. Bermúdez de Castro said at the time that the revised framework made the public side of the company more robust. (elperiodicodearagon.com) ### What is happening on the ground at Romareda now? Aragón Digital reported on March 9 that demolition of the old stadium was complete and that work was advancing across multiple sections of the new ground, with about 200 workers and 10 large cranes on site. The same report said the target is for Real Zaragoza to open the new stadium in August 2027 for the 2027-28 season. (elperiodicodearagon.com) The Zaragoza city council said in November 2025 that it was also preparing 4.5 million euros of surrounding urbanization works to be carried out in 2026 and 2027 around the stadium site. Those works cover about 18,637 square meters around the venue. Aragón Digital said the next scheduled club payments are 5 million euros in 2026, 12 million euros in 2027 and 7 million euros in 2028, while the current completion target remains August 2027. (aragondigital.es) The city council’s separate urbanization works are due to run alongside the stadium build through 2026 and 2027. (zaragoza.es)