Por Redaccion 
Accuses Martín Peláez of «breaking the climate of institutional respect»
The Oviedo City Council has published a statement this Thursday in response to Real Oviedo stating that if they want to build their sports city in El Asturcón, a municipal facility, it is valued at 39.5 million euros.
«If Real Oviedo wants to propose a serious operation to build their sports city in El Asturcón, the City Council, now that the possibility of reopening an equestrian center has been ruled out, is open to negotiating with the club,» the statement asserts, using the 2021 valuation of these facilities as a starting point. «Any agreement,» states the Government Team led by Alfredo Canteli (PP), «requires the club to financially compensate the city for the use of a facility that belongs to all Oviedo residents and was funded by their taxes.»
The relationship between the Oviedo City Council and Real Oviedo has recently become tense, with accusations of lies regarding the club’s interest in El Asturcón. The latest to speak out has been the local Executive, criticizing the «tone and content» of the statements made by Real Oviedo’s president, Martín Peláez. «They do not align with the climate of dialogue and respect that the municipal government and its mayor have always maintained in relation to Real Oviedo,» they have stated.
«Accusing others of lying or making veiled threats does not seem to be the best way to achieve a fruitful institutional understanding,» they added, before calling on the club’s directors to return to «the path of responsible and institutional dialogue,» emphasizing that «the Oviedo municipal government has only one goal: to continuously support Real Oviedo and collaborate with its leaders to strengthen the club and achieve all its objectives.»
All of this, they added, «in an atmosphere of mutual respect, resolving all issues in an institutional manner and not through the media or public pressures that only unnecessarily inflame relationships and coexistence.»
«THE MAYOR NEVER THREATENED REAL OVIEDO»
In the statement, the Government Team has asserted that the mayor, Alfredo Canteli (PP), «never threatened» Real Oviedo with the possibility of choosing another municipality to build their sports city. «The only thing he indicated,» they emphasize, «is that he preferred it to be in Oviedo,» also taking into account the ongoing financial support and commitment that the Oviedo City Council maintains with Real Oviedo. According to the Government Team, Martín Peláez has «broken the climate of institutional respect» with his statements.
They added that the municipal government has always shown a «scrupulous respect» for Real Oviedo to «keep it out of any political debate,» despite the PSOE’s insistence on bringing it up, as seen in the last council meeting and expected to continue due to Mr. Llaneza’s tendency to persist in error.
THE CITY COUNCIL DID NOT INTERVENE IN THE FAILED PROJECTS OF LATORES AND LA MANJOYA
Before El Asturcón, Real Oviedo showed interest in building their sports city on the lands of La Manjoya and Latores, but both operations failed. The City Council explained in the statement that they did not intervene in either case.
Regarding Latores, they clarify that «the only thing the mayor of Oviedo did was, accepting an invitation from Jesús Martínez, attend the groundbreaking event for this failed operation and offer all necessary municipal collaboration to expedite the project processing timelines.»
As for La Manjoya, the mayor «learned about this operation from Martín Pelaez himself and did what he has always done with Real Oviedo: offer full collaboration to process the project.» «It was the club’s president who informed Alfredo Canteli of the contamination issues on those lands, something the City Council was unaware of since the decontamination of the area was endorsed by the Principality of Asturias,» they added.
The City Council «never received any project» for a sports city on the lands of Latores or La Manjoya, and they have «absolutely no knowledge» if Real Oviedo had commissioned them.
The local government also defends that Real Oviedo «did not formally request the lands of El Asturcón.» «In private conversations, Martín Peláez briefly mentioned these facilities, which were previously associated with a possible equestrian installation, but never expressed a real interest from the club,» they stated.
They cite an example from a meeting where Real Oviedo informed Alfredo Canteli about the issues with the La Manjoya lands, mentioning El Asturcón but then quickly proposing the acquisition of other municipal facilities clearly and substantively, to which the City Council «was open to negotiating, although no progress has been made thus far.»
In that meeting, they assert, «it was made clear that municipal facilities are a heritage of all Oviedo residents and, as such, legally cannot be given away to anyone.»
Despite this, the municipal government believes that «two failed projects and a search across Asturias for possible locations» have shown «how not to carry out such an operation.» They state that it is normal for two friendly and closely linked institutions like Real Oviedo and the Oviedo City Council to engage in a calm, serious, responsible, and respectful negotiation to find the best solution, and to do so privately, avoiding media noise until a final agreement can be announced.
Therefore, the City Council wants to put an end to the controversy by emphasizing that the facilities of El Asturcón «cannot be obtained through statements in the press, unwarranted disparagements, and offending those who represent all Oviedo residents,» but can be achieved «through well-founded proposals and economic offers that enable a potential agreement.»