Zaragoza debate reignited over €8m payment tied to La Romareda

The Real Zaragoza has put La Romareda back under the spotlight after a payment that, according to Sport, has reignited debate over the club’s real role in financing the stadium project. The timeline begins on March 2, when Zaragoza and the Nueva Romareda company signed an industrial lease contract for operating the venue.

The payment that sparks debate

What has triggered the controversy comes just two days later, on March 4: the club issued an invoice for €8 million to the SL Nueva Romareda, where the Zaragoza City Council and the Government of Aragon hold a majority stake (75%). Sport explains that the contract includes the subrogation in favour of the club of the naming-related obligations tied to Ibercaja, awarded for ten years.

As stated in the company’s annual accounts quoted by Sport, Ibercaja committed to paying €10 million so its name would be used for both the Actur modular stadium and the club’s new ground (“Ibercaja Estadio” and “Ibercaja Romareda”). The article adds that €10m is a baseline figure that could reach €19 million, depending on the category.

“The naming money goes to the club”

Sport also highlights that Ibercaja’s funding was advanced in one instalment and that Zaragoza had to settle the corresponding amount, scheduled for 2025 at minimum. The piece notes that the payment arrived “on the last stretch” and that the previous ownership’s statement stressed its “firm commitment” to a “strategic” project and compliance with deadlines “punctually and strictly”.

This week, when asked about the issue, the mayor and president of Nueva Romareda, Natalia Chueca, defended the logic of the structure: “once the contract is signed, the money from the naming has to go to the one it belongs to, which is the club”, as Sport reports. She also added that because the agreement involves multiple public entities—and the club—it does not follow the same rules as an entirely municipal file, which is why it would not be public.

The controversy comes on top of other disputes around how the stadium was built. Sport reviews the Podemos appeal that led to a pause of the original tender, the creation of the joint venture Nueva Romareda (with a €120 million capital structure) and the start of works in July 2024. The article closes with a current estimate of roughly €170 million for the overall operation and says the club still has to provide €34 million more (five this year, 12 next, and seven in 2028), plus a future canon once the stadium is back in use.