FC Porto presents new academy in Maia. Contract dependent on public auction | Soccer

This Wednesday morning, FC Porto presented the projects for the club’s new academy, less than 48 hours after the Maia City Council approved the sale at public auction of 14 hectares of the 23 hectares that will make up this sports complex. great scope. The academy was one of Jorge Nuno Pinto da Costa’s main promises for the 2020-24 four-year period – an “obsession of the president” –, with the project being presented exactly one month before the presidential elections. There is still no concrete projection on the total cost of this work, with expenditure projected to be around 40 million euros.

“It’s ridiculous that this is said to be an electoral asset. It’s an asset for FC Porto for the future, to increasingly be better in training its players”, summarized Pinto da Costa, Porto president. The leader mentioned André Villas-Boas in his speech, saying that he put in writing all the necessary agreements for the construction of this complex, to prevent “contracts from being torn up” after the elections. “FC Porto’s life doesn’t stop, it has to be taken seriously, with passion and always thinking about what’s best for FC Porto.”

On Monday, the municipality approved the sale at public auction of the 14 hectares of land intended for the construction of the Porto complex. The base value of the 18 plots of land is 3.36 million euros, 23 euros per square meter. Who owns the remaining ten hectares needed for this project? The construction company Alexandre Barbosa Borges (ABB) is the owner of these lands, having signed a promissory purchase and sale contract with FC Porto for these lots, with Fernando Gomes, financial administrator of SAD about to leave office, saying that this strategy saved money for the Porto coffers.

“ABB has given us invaluable help. At the moment, 9.3 hectares owned by the construction company are parceled out outside the City Hall. There are many plots of land that were patiently parceled out for us to get here [total de 23 hectares]. If FC Porto were to speak to the owners, these lands would cost twice what they will cost”, reiterates Fernando Gomes. This purchase between the club and construction company is, however, dependent on the results of the public auction.

If the Portistas keep the municipal land, the hectares are purchased from ABB. If not, everything will be ineffective. But Fernando Gomes says that everything is in place to make this happen. “It doesn’t seem to me that there is anyone who, just to harm FC Porto, wants to take over these lands that are for the academy. We will be paying attention to what will happen”, warns the administrator.

“We are ensuring that the entire 23 hectares will be obtained in good time so that this progresses now. We have a promising purchase and sale contract with ABB subject to a public auction. It would be, on FC Porto’s part, to purchase these lands from of the principle that the public auction [corra favoravelmente]”, explains Fernando Gomes.

The first contract for the complex, relating to earthworks, was awarded to ABB, worth 6.8 million euros.

Ten football fields

It was exactly like timing of the electoral period in mind that Fernando Gomes began the intervention, in what is possibly his last public event as responsible for SAD’s finances. “This is not the result of something that happened a few weeks ago to make a number because there are elections. For years, FC Porto has been looking for a project capable of meeting its training needs. We have now reached this solution, because a lot of good will converged”.

The main building, named “Casa do Dragão”, will serve as a residence for athletes hosted by FC Porto and will have 72 double rooms. The main structure will be a stadium with a capacity of around 2000 seats, available to host second division matches. Nine grass pitches with official dimensions will also be built, as well as a grass seven-a-side football pitch.

“It is rare to find a client who has such a concrete idea of ​​what they want, the reasons for all the reasons they give and an ability to listen and interact with third parties”, began by saying architect Manuel Salgado, one of the mentors of this project.

Praising the characteristics of the chosen location, the person responsible highlights the easy accessibility from several cities. “This vast area is extraordinarily well located in the Metropolitan Area [do Porto]. It is served by two motorways, has fantastic accessibility and a railway line with a stop in Leandro. The walkable distance between the stop and the central area is less than a kilometer, perfectly walkable both on foot and by bike.

The base value of the land was also worthy of criticism from the socialist councilor. For Francisco Vieira de Carvalho, the price of 23 euros per square meter is below the market value, considering it to be a potentially harmful deal for Maia.

The “elephant in the room”, named André Villas-Boas, remains present. Pinto da Costa’s main competitor defends the construction of the complex in Olival, having already signed a purchase and sale contract in his own name for land in Vila Nova de Gaia. Since this entire process will only have a “green light” after the electoral result is recognized, the former coach is waiting to understand the details of the operation. But Pinto da Costa says that contracts “cannot be torn up”.