A judicial slap in the face for Florentino Pérez regarding the Bernabéu parking lot.

BarcelonaThe Madrid High Court (TSJM) ruled in favor of the residents of the Santiago Bernabéu stadium and on Monday approved the annulment of the controversial concession for the two parking lots Real Madrid wanted to build on Paseo de la Castellana and Calle del Padre Damián, next to the stadium. Specifically, it rejected the appeals filed by the club led by Florentino Pérez, the developer and manager of this project, and by Madrid City Council, the government that bid for the infrastructure.

With this ruling, the TSJM supports Judge Carmen Casado of the 30th Administrative Court of Madrid, who in May of last year upheld the appeal of the Residents' Association of Those Harmed by the Bernabéu and revoked the parking concession "for being an act not in accordance with the law." Furthermore, it imposed payment of the costs on the city council, which was the party against whom the residents were suing, as it was the administration that carried out this project. However, the original idea belonged to Madrid, which in July 2021 submitted a private initiative proposing the construction of a tunnel and two underground parking garages. The city council accepted the proposal and, two years later, put the works out to tender, which were finally awarded to the club itself through the company Real Madrid Estadio SL.

"The reasons used by the trial judge to consider the planned 650-meter-long tunnel from the Padre Damián street parking lot to access the Real Madrid parking lot to be of no public interest are also reasonable and justified, as it effectively serves the public interest and benefit of the court. It does not provide any evidence that it resolves existing traffic congestion problems in the area, as it is merely an underground connection between parking lots," the TSJM states. Furthermore, the ruling finds it proven that there were significant changes in the economic and financial feasibility study and that these were not submitted to public information, as was required. Furthermore, the parking lots are incompatible with the special plan for the area itself, a fact already highlighted by municipal technicians from the urban development department in a report that the public works department invited to amend in record time. However, the court considered them significant and requested them from Almeida's team.

The Supreme Court's way

Both the City Council and Real Madrid can still appeal the ruling to the Supreme Court within 30 days. If the Supreme Court were to admit the appeal, it is likely that the final ruling would not be issued for another two years. However, it is also possible that the Supreme Court will not admit it, and therefore the ruling of the TSJM will be final and the concession will be annulled. The consequences of this ruling are diverse. For example, it leaves up in the air the entire remodeling plan for the Santiago Bernabéu area proposed by Real Madrid and which the council processed last August, during Mayor José Luis Martínez-Almeida's paternity leave, arguing that this work is necessary to adapt the stadium's surroundings to accommodate both parking spaces.

Among the main changes Real Madrid wants to implement with this proposal are: reducing the number of lanes on Concha Espina from five to four, leaving only one lane in each direction on Padre Damián Street, creating a large pedestrian plaza of nearly 20,000 square meters at the front of Paseo de la Castellana, and reconfiguring the area. The slap in the face regarding the Bernabéu parking lot adds to the problems Madrid has organizing mega-concerts at full volume in a stadium located in a fully urban area in the northern part of the city.