Stadium Management or New Neighbourhood: UD Las Palmas’s Two Futures
The president of UD Las Palmas, Miguel Ángel Ramírez, has announced he will promote a new neighbourhood with 1,230 homes in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria if the club cannot secure a stadium deal. The development would be built on two plots the club owns in Almatriche, a key expansion area for the city. This alternative plan was revealed by Ramírez last night to journalists before the team’s New Year’s Eve dinner.
Priority Remains the Gran Canaria Stadium
Ramírez stressed that the club’s top priority is to take over the management of the Gran Canaria Stadium following its €100 million-plus renovation. The upgrade is being funded by the Gran Canaria Island Council (Cabildo) in preparation for the island’s role as a host venue for the 2030 FIFA World Cup. Regarding recent public disagreements between the club and the council on this issue, Ramírez acknowledged that UD Las Palmas will have to pay to operate the revamped ‘new bombonera’ in Siete Palmas, the neighbourhood where the island’s stadium is located.
An “Eternal Love” Seeking a Solution
He emphasised that the Council and UD Las Palmas share “a relationship of eternal love that will not be broken” by this matter, which must be resolved by 2029. Ramírez expressed confidence that both parties will find a workable solution. “Nobody understands Gran Canaria without UD, and UD does not understand life without Gran Canaria. We will find a solution,” he stated, as confirmed by EFE on Wednesday.
The “Plan B”: The UD Las Palmas Neighbourhood
However, Ramírez advanced that if the club cannot manage the future Gran Canaria Stadium, it will construct a residential complex on its Almatriche land. This ‘Plan B’ would involve a development with 1,250 homes, plus restaurant and leisure venues, effectively creating “the UD Las Palmas neighbourhood”, and the club would then “wait and see”.
Repaying the Council’s Investment
In any case, Ramírez recognised that the club would have to repay the council’s multi-million euro investment in the stadium renovation for a private company like UD Las Palmas to operate it. He alluded to the situation in Zaragoza, “where the operation of that city’s football club stadium is given to foreign capital,” and questioned why it wouldn’t be given to UD Las Palmas when “all the capital is Canarian.”
A Tactical Withdrawal
Hoping to avoid conflict, Ramírez accepted that the club’s “logical and historic demand has not been well received,” leading him to decide to step back temporarily from the council. He referred to the Cabildo as “one of our best sponsors and the institution that has never abandoned UD.”
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