Valencia's new stadium licence upheld by court | OneFootball

The Contentious-Administrative Court of Valencia has dismissed an appeal by Libertad VCF against the city council over the urban planning licence to complete Valencia CF’s new stadium and its car park at avenida de les Corts Valencianes, 12. The ruling keeps the licence in force.

According to Superdeporte, the judgment upholds the legality of the municipal agreement that rejected the association’s reposición appeal, and Libertad VCF has 15 days to challenge the decision.

The resolution, signed by judge Lourdes Noverques Martínez, reviews the Local Government Board decision of 15 November 2024, which ratified the licence issued on 12 July 2024.

The dispute centred on whether the plot holds the legal status of a serviced plot, or solar. The association argued it does not, so a simple works licence was insufficient, saying a Programme of Isolated Action and a financial guarantee were required. It said mobility conditions attached to the licence effectively changed alignments and entailed wider pavements, cycle lanes and other significant urban works.

The city council and Valencia CF opposed that view, maintaining the plot had already achieved solar status through the area’s development and that the main urbanisation works were received in 1999. They also pointed to prior stadium licences granted in 2008. The club said the mobility measures were ancillary, aimed at easing access and pedestrian flows, not an urban reform nor a loss of solar status.

The court rejected an inadmissibility plea and accepted the association’s standing under public urban planning action, finding no abuse of rights or bad faith. On the merits, it found the plot meets the minimum services required to be a solar, and noted earlier stadium licences and their modification reinforced that status.

Source: Superdeporte