Mar 07, 2026
3 min read
Sports responds to the city by reminding that, since 2018, it has invested about 11 million in the renovation of the stadium and wants to study the reform.
El Molinón renews confrontation with the city council
Sporting responds to the Municipality by recalling that since 2018 it has invested around 11 million in the improvement of the stadium and asks to study the reform, including the concessionaire on the first floor.
Alejandro Eraragori threw the first stone, Gijon's city council responded and Sporting responded with an official statement.The confrontation between the red and white club Orlegi Sports and the municipality has been revived in recent hours over the cost to be borne by each side at the El Molinón stadium.
The beginning of this new controversy was the statement of the president of O'Reilly and the director of the sports council last Wednesday at the opening of the Mareo sports bar."El Molinón needs a major reform," Irragori said."I understand that in 2010 we have to talk to the people of the city and the lower regions to find out where the income is, who is earning what, who is empowered by it and how we can have a better Molinón for everyone. Mexican businessmen who have joined the business established since the last reform have joined.
The City Council responded to these demonstrations the next day."A good starting point in terms of improving the stadium is for Sporting, as a tenant, to carry out the maintenance tasks that correspond to it," a municipal source told El Comercio newspaper, whose information says that municipal expenses for the stadium from 2023 have reached 738,000 euros, mainly to repair the structural problems the facility presents.
The reaction of the sport did not last long, and the red and white position indicated that since 2018, under the leadership of previous owner Javier Fernández (Orleg arrives in 2022), it has invested 11 million euros in "direct investment and consumption and operating costs" dedicated to the preservation and maintenance of El Molinon.Among them, 1.6 million euros stand out for infrastructure improvements, technological upgrades and security systems, 1.1, maintenance area coordination and fan maintenance, and 7.8 million euros for "construction costs, field maintenance and annual activities", contrary to the information of the city.
In a statement, Sporting recalled an investment of almost seven million euros made in the 2010 reform, which in principle allowed a 40-year concession to sell the commercial premises on the ground floor of the stadium, with the option to extend the contract for another 20 years."This action, which is already fifteen years old, again requires appropriate interventions, which shows that the challenge of El Molinón must be addressed through a broader and long-term vision," the statement said.in the note.
Sporting and Orlegi show their "deep respect" for the city's institutions and their willingness to collaborate with the City Council as well as the rest of the actors to "define a modern, fair and sustainable model that will allow us to protect this heritage and take advantage of its full potential in the years to come."The red and white entity and its owners ask the city government and the developer to use the ground floor to "illustrate" the future of the stadium."The goal should be building a shared vision," he says.
Relations between Sporting and its property, Orlegi Sports, and the Gijon city council have cooled and even broken at times since the return of Carmen Morrion to the mayor's office.The reason for the discrepancy is the lack of an agreement to renovate the stadium to make it suitable for the 2030 World Cup.
Club sources have repeatedly reported that the dialogue bridges between the two sides have been restored for some time.Last Wednesday, city representative and corporate relations consultant Jorge González-Palacios attended the opening of the Mareo Sports Bar.However, it is once again clear that the relationship backstage at El Molinón is still not ideal as the fans demand reform, as the shortcomings themselves are obvious, but the most serious problem is the facade designed by Joaquin Vaquero to show off Tursios.
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