Cagliari's sports facilities have a half-million-euro hole.

Some have never paid the fee for ten years, nor provided for the mandatory maintenance of the facility. Some used the facilities without ever signing the agreement with the Municipality, and some had begun paying regularly but were then forced to stop due to objective difficulties. Soccer, basketball, swimming, gymnastics, volleyball: the universe of Cagliari sports clubs that failed to pay the concession fees for using municipal sports facilities is vast and varied. The debt owed by the Municipality to these associations is over half a million euros, a full 560,000 to be precise. A delicate situation, which the Palazzo Bacaredda is now determined to resolve. "Regularizing past debts represents one of the objectives of legalizing the sector that this Council and my office are pursuing," says Sports Councilor Giuseppe Macciotta. "This is a significant figure that this administration discovered after carefully monitoring all concessions. We are trying to address this with a balanced approach that balances the administration's needs with those of the companies, which, as is well known, are struggling with a chronic shortage of space."

Goals

There is therefore no punitive intent in the administration's actions. Not even towards those clubs that have deliberately chosen not to pay the license fee to the Municipality over the years. "There is no punitive intent," reiterates Michele Boero, president of the Sports Commission that led the monitoring. "The administration's task is to ensure compliance with the rules and guarantee equal rules for everyone. There can be difficult situations, and this administration is ready to listen and work with the clubs to find the most appropriate solutions for each," he adds. This is why, emphasizes Councilor Macciotta, "we have opened a dialogue with the associations to allow for the gradual repayment of debts. This method is producing excellent results, so much so that in the last two months we have collected over one hundred thousand euros in arrears."

The future

Question: How is it possible that the Municipality hasn't collected its concession fees for so many years? Some argue that the reason lies in the chronic understaffing of its offices: with staff stretched to the bone, the administration is overwhelmed, having to prioritize its priorities (citizen services). This would also explain why it's often difficult to monitor the status of maintenance, which, by regulation, at least routine maintenance, is the responsibility of the concessionaire. Therefore, in the future—but this is just a hypothesis, nothing more for now—an external company appointed by the Municipality to conduct all the checks on the status of system maintenance and the proper collection of concession fees.

Mauro Madeddu