Torrevieja’s Councillor for Sport, Victor Ferrández (IU), has said that he will not guarantee CD Torrevieja the exclusive use of the Vicente Garcia when the stadium is brought back into service during the coming weeks.
Despite the fact that they are the highest placed club representing the city, and playing in Preferente Grupo 4, in an exclusive interview with the Leader last week, the councillor was quite adamant in stating that as a Municipal Stadium the Vicente Garcia would be available to the 1st teams of both Torrevieja Clubs, CD Torrevieja and Torrevieja CF, who, following relegation at the end of last season, the latter now play their football in Group 15 of the 2nd Valencian Regional League, two tiers below CD Torrevieja and the same league as their ‘B’ team.
He added that as the calendars for both clubs are arranged by the Valencian Football Federation there should never be a clash of fixtures so both teams should be able to play at the Vicente Garcia with absolutely no problems.
As well as the two Torrevieja clubs he said that the stadium could also be used by visiting sports clubs who utilise the city’s sports facilities for their pre-season and summer training and camps.
But certainly for the coming 9 months, at least until the end of the 2018/19 season, the facilities at the Vicente Garcia will be extremely limited.
With phase one of the refurbishment project completed and about to be signed off today, Monday 17 September, the contractors will return the stadium to the council, which will immediately engage a grounds maintenance company to clear the weeds from the terraces, clean up the stands and surrounding areas and prepare the playing surface, so that it can be used again.
Ferrández said that he was hopeful that the preparation would could be done fairly quickly with a view to having the facility ready for day 5 of the Preferente season in two weeks’ time on which CD Torrevieja will host SFFCV Benidorm CD.
“The teams will have to use the changing facilities across the road in the Estadio Nelson Mandela,” he said, “but they are fully aware of what the Vicente Garcia will be able to offer, which will be the playing surface only, and which will continue to be the case until the end of the current season.”
The councillor explained that during the intervening period he intends to put phase 2 of the refurbishment process into effect, which will see plans for the new main stand, changing facilities and club offices, drawn up and put out to tender. With a budget of 1 million euro for the coming year he anticipates that about half of that will be used during phase 2, which will get underway immediately the 2018/19 football season comes to an end.
“However, should we not be able to complete the work during the summer break and have the stadium ready for the start of the following season in September 2019, it will be put on hold, thereby allowing the football clubs back in to to play their games, once again. Work will then resume in May 2020,” he added.
With refurbishment work also about to get underway with the relaying of two of the astroturf pitches, the return to use of the Vicente Garcia stadium will come as a welcome addition to the city facilities. But while the management of Torrevieja CF will see their move into the stadium as an elevation in their local status it is unlikely that David Cruz, the controversial owner of CD Torrevieja and former President of Club Deportivo Castellón, will welcome the council decision quite so enthusiastically.
