More than ten years after the opening of the Estádio Algarve located between Faro and Loulé, the presidents of the two municipalities that own it have admitted that the stadium represents a major financial burden but it is not a ‘white elephant,’ as many have called it.
The ratepayers of Faro and Loulé may not know it but they are subsiding the stadium by €30,000 a month. A figure that would be between €70,000 and €100,000 a month if events were not held there according to Faro mayor Rogério Bacalhau.
Loulé’s Mayor, Vítor Aleixo, said that the amount currently funded by his ratepayers "is nothing extraordinary."
Bacalhau commented "We are talking about relatively low cost as the stadium can, with the activity developed there, raise revenue," adding that the stadium could be ‘better monetized’ after the economic crisis.
Built to host part of Euro 2004, the Estádio Algarve has a municipal border running down the centre of the pitch. European, national funds and municipal bank loans were used to fund the project and the running costs are now divided equally between the two councils.
The council debt relating to the stadium is €1.5 million, according to Bacalhau, with €300,000 to €400,000 needed annually to keep the stadium operating.
The mayors not deny that the Algarve Stadium is a challenge and a financial burden but claim they are working together to attract revenue from more events.
The costs were reduced significantly in 2010 with the closure of the operating company “Parque das Cidades” and now a team of 20, plus a management board, operate the business.
The two council chiefs claim not to be happy with the current situation and will ‘continue to look for solutions’ before local ratepayers start asking any difficult questions, especially about the Parque das Cidades operating company and its dorectors, finances and fate.
