Udinese declares itself ready to leave the Dacia Arena and ask for a refund of over 48 million euros. The findings of the National Anti-Corruption Authority regarding the procedure for the transfer of the surface rights of the Friuli stadium for 99 years by the Municipality of Udine led to the harsh reaction of the Juventus club, which has already announced an appeal in the appropriate offices, but has also feared the possibility of requesting the early termination of the contract which has been managed directly by the Friulian company since 2013. In summary, for Anac the stadium on which the club has invested remains a public good and therefore every step and possibility of development must necessarily pass through the filter of this legal qualification. With all the delays and impediments that have hitherto blocked the full development of complementary activities for the company of the Pozzo family. Another example of how Italian politics and bureaucracy have not yet understood the values of urban regeneration and economic leverage represented by modern and multifunctional stadiums.
The resolution of the ANAC
The provision of the anti-corruption Authority (object in recent weeks of a political tug-of-war for a new institutional framework that could also lead to a review of the competences and powers) was issued last May 26 and states “that the stadium cannot be considered as a private structure owned by the company “since the provisions of the concession contract for the surface right (which replaced the 2011 convention) does not end” with the alienation of the surface right towards restructuring “but it also includes “further elements including the management of the Stadium, the main service required during the competition”. Still in the same resolution, the ANAC “notes the omitted control of the annual maintenance works for an amount of 250 thousand euros per year, to be paid by the company, for the entire duration of the surface right” and the breach of contract “for failure to presentation of a legitimate guarantee towards the fulfillment of all obligations relating to extraordinary maintenance work for an amount of 250 thousand euros per year and the payment of the deferred consideration from the consideration for the sale of the surface right “. Both the Municipality and Udinese are invited to communicate to the Authority the decisions taken to remove the illegality or irregularity within 45 days.
Loading…
The note of the Friulian club
“This decision – reads the Udinese note – also comes as a result of the spurious and repeated complaints suffered in recent years”. The club of the Pozzo family, moreover, «will ask for the reimbursement of 48,530,000 euros, a sum equal to the expenses incurred for the demolition and renovation of the plant. At the same time, the company undertakes to identify an alternative area for the construction of a new stadium, reviewing the practices initiated at the time. One of the options being studied for the new plant would be Pasian di Prato ». «If we believe that the problem is Udinese – declared Alberto Rigotto, administrative director of the Juventus club – we are ready to remove the disturbance. Udinese would not ask for any compensation or interest but only the return of those sums that have been advanced. We are talking about about 48.5 million. We believe that the measure is full in the context of the persistence of these attitudes of those who seem not to be recognizing what has been done in recent years. There are neighboring municipalities that have always made sure to welcome us with open arms and we are willing to redo important investments in other locations. We are already in contact, as we were in other times, with other municipalities in order to be able to redo – even quickly – the system elsewhere. A first contact had already taken place in Pasian di Prato but in the Udine belt there are also other municipalities very close to the main road arteries. It is not a question of a joke but of in-depth reasoning and already implemented in the past. At this point I think it is legitimate for us to imagine an alternative path ».
The previous
Already on 17 June 2015 the Anac had ruled on the process, noting the failure to comply with “provisions on the subject of work concessions, given the absence, in particular, of an analysis of the economic convenience of the operation to part of the administration “and the failure of the Municipality to exercise” adequate control over the correct execution of the services entrusted to the successful bidder “. Furthermore, “no competition was made” and “the appointment of a municipal manager as head of the procedure for Udinese Calcio SpA appears to be characterized by incompatibility profiles”. This resolution relates to file 120 of 2014, on the contract between Udinese and the Municipality of Udine for the restructuring of the plant. The document, signed by the then president of ANAC, Raffaele Cantone, specifies how the procedure chosen by the municipal administration was “in any case respectful of the principle of competition” and that the violation was “mainly of a formal nature”.
Failure to develop the stadium
In the meantime, due to this possible formal violation, the club is unable to fully develop the potential of the new player, undoubtedly a small jewel in the disastrous panorama of Italian football. The Friuli stadium (or Dacia Arena, but also on the transfer of naming rights there are findings by Anac) renovated in 2016 and on which the Municipality of Udine granted a surface right for 99 years was worth 6 million at a historical cost, while with support appraisal as required by the August Decree (Legislative Decree 104/20) in the last financial statements this value was updated to approximately 50 million. Moreover, the exploitation of the plant is still partial, despite investments of over 10 million for a clinic, bars, restaurants, sports and school facilities to be built in the areas below the stands. But for two years the authorization procedure had been suspended pending resolution of the administrative dispute over the assignment of the plant. The Anac, however, paradoxically at least on this point invites the Municipality to close as soon as possible the authorization procedure started on the basis of law no. 147 of 2013.