New stadium, there is a program agreement (modified) between the Municipality of Cagliari and the Region. And the controversy is served. It arises between the former president of the Region, Christian Solinas , and the current Sports Councilor of Massimo Zedda's government, the lawyer Giuseppe Macciotta. The location of the clash: the comments section of the blog Sardegna e Libertà, by Paolo Maninchedda, former leader of the Partito dei Sardi and former regional councilor for Public Works.

It all starts from a Facebook post by Solinas, accompanied by documents. The secretary of the Psd'Az claims that the Municipality and the Region have substantially modified the agreement on the stadium : while before, with him as president and Paolo Truzzu as mayor, the 50 million euros from the Region were intended only and exclusively for the construction of the sports facility (there are another 10 from the Municipality plus the funds that the club should find), now, with a modification to the program agreement, that money could be used by the rossoblù company also to build "a hotel with 126 rooms and about 2,000 square meters dedicated to spaces for conventions and company meetings, a wellness center of about 4,000 square meters, a Bar Sport, managed directly by the football club". Between one agreement and another, a passage was deleted: previously it was written that the Region would contribute "to the construction of the new stadium according to the standards required by international competitions, limited to the allocation of the financial resources allocated for this purpose for the years 2023-2026". The passage was deleted. And here is the catch for Solinas. Maninchedda reported the thesis.

Macciotta, who had already clashed with Solinas, intervened to deny it : he had accused him of not having closed the process for the disbursement of the 50 million and had assured that the matter would be closed shortly by Alessandra Todde. The former president had responded by claiming that it was Todde who had not signed the decree that unblocked the matter.

«Solinas», Macciotta claims, «hastily concludes that the new text would allow a change in the destination of the regional funding no longer used only for the sports facility. The issue, benevolently, can be defined as a hairsplitter. After an allusion to «other locations» in which the conflict could develop, the councilor continues: «I start with a question: did the project to which the December 2023 program agreement refers already provide for the annexation of the hotel, the conference center, the wellness center and the bar to the sports facility? Incontestably, yes. The two projects in question turn out to be absolutely specular with the only difference deriving from the suppression (...) of some volumes, including a shopping center, originally foreseen in the program agreement signed by Solinas and the mayor at the time, Paolo Truzzu».

Macciotta reports the text of the new program agreement: «The Autonomous Region of Sardinia in implementation of the provisions of Article 11 of the regional law of 21 February 2023 as amended by Article 2 of the regional law no. 9 of 23 October 2023, contributes to the construction of the new stadium according to the standards required by international competitions, with a financial endowment of 50 million euros to be financed with funds from the regional budget» . And he asks: «How this provision can lead to the change in the destination of the regional funding, intended to “gift” the private individual a hotel, a conference center, a wellness center and a refreshment point, is really not understood, except in the malevolent perspective that permeates Solinas' intervention. In reality, the regional funding of 50,000,000 euros correctly “contributes” to the construction of the new stadium , the overall cost of which, in the current configuration prescribed by UEFA, exceeds the amount of 120,000,000 euros».

On this point, Solinas replies. He writes: « If it is so obvious that public funds will cover the construction of the stadium only, there are two very simple questions . One: assuming that a decree from the President of the Region was missing to conclude the approval process of the Program Agreement already signed, why in these 9 months did President Todde not simply adopt the missing decree and transfer the resources to the Municipality of Cagliari? Two: why was it decided to sign a new Program Agreement in the draft of which the words “The resources [...] will be allocated to the Municipality of Cagliari [...] for the sole activities connected to the construction of the sports facility” were removed from art. 4, point 3? The old text did not mention the volumes of the Norma Project at all and therefore the renunciation of some volumes in the areas adjacent to the stadium certainly does not justify the need for a new Program Agreement. On the costs and numbers that you reel off, arriving at 120,000,000 for the construction of the sports facility alone, I will reserve a more in-depth analysis. The Municipality of Milan, administered by Mayor Sala, has in fact made official in the Conference of Services for the new San Siro - these are public documents, I will not reveal anything - that from research by the Milanese Technical Directorate , the average costs per spectator seat obtained from the analysis of 29 facilities would be equal to 3,600 euros per seat. This average would also include two 'very expensive' facilities such as Wembley and Arsenal. If this were the case, a 25,000-seat stadium in line with UEFA requirements for international events would cost an average of 90,000,000. At this point, adding the 10 million from the Municipality to the 50 million from the Region, there would be - always subject to a necessary more in-depth analysis - 60 million in public funds on 90 million in costs. At this point one might ask: is the use of sports credit foreseen for the construction of the facility? And if so, for what amount? Because if it were over 30 million, clearly some considerations should be made".

Macciotta does not respond to Solinas, he replies again to Maninchedda. But this could be just a chapter in a new course in the history of the stadium that never came into being. On which the President of the Region has never spent a word.

Enrico Fresu

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