Real Madrid are undoubtedly looking to put the Spanish capital on the map in terms of events and luxury sports, exemplified by the renovations on the Santiago Bernabeu, which are set to continue for at least another three years. It’s also having a negative impact on the local population, as well as bringing in major business.
According to a report by El Pais, housing prices have risen by 46% per square metre since 2016, in the space of the 8 years since the project was announced. Local resident and lawyer Inmaculada Ramos described the club’s movements as a ‘colonisation’, and the report goes on to detail that every business or shop that closes or moves out of the area is quickly acquired by Los Blancos, and dedicated to merchandising or the VIP experience.
In addition to the stadium itself, there is a cavernous underground car park being built with direct access to the stadium, with public money, which Real Madrid are set to bring in over half a billion euros from over the period of their 40-year lease from the Madrid City Council. More recently it was announced that there would be further reforms to the Santiago Bernabeu metro station. That work is set to continue until at least 2027, and will see the square area of the station tripled, again with public money.
All of these plans have been approved by the majority party in the area the Partido Popular. In the article, rival parties Mas Madrid and PSOE have accused Madrid Mayor Jose Luis Martinez-Almeida of handing out public funds for his friends, in this case meaning Florentino Perez. The pair appeared together at Real Madrid’s Copa del Rey celebration for their basketball team.
Furthermore, luxury brands and elite restaurants are moving into the Chamartin area at breakneck speed, amid multi-million hotel chain investments too. The 140,000 residents, which already represent the richest 3% of the Madrid population, look set to see the impact of Perez’s plans for decades to come.
