Jul 30 - GSD “Would Reverse Any Decision To Site Stadium At Europa Point”
The GSD has today committed itself to reversing any decision to site a National Football Stadium at Europa Point, whether it obtains planning permission or not.
The Leader of the Opposition, Daniel Feetham, said:
“We entirely support and encourage the GFA’s ambition to play UEFA football in Gibraltar but we continue also to hold the view that any decision to site the National Football Stadium at Europa Point would not be the best decision for this community as a whole. Our research and consultations suggest that there is no inherent incompatibility in these positions.”
The party says that its recently announced Education policy, which involves moving Bayside School to Rooke, would allow the GFA to develop Victoria Stadium into a Cat IV stadium.
At present, it says, nothing prevents Victoria Stadium from being developed into a Category III stadium. UEFA rules, argue the GSD, clearly provide that where there is no Cat IV stadium, national football games can be played in a Cat III stadium.
The GFA recently published an advert which said that there were plans to develop Victoria Stadium into a Category III stadium. It is inaccurate to state, says the GSD, as the Chief Minister has stated in Parliament in answer to Opposition questions, that there is no alternative to Europa Point.
It makes every sense, claims the GSD, to proceed on a “more reasonable and modest basis” in terms of location and expenditure whist Gibraltar takes its welcome first steps in international football.
Describing itself as a “responsible party of Opposition” the GSD says it has offered what it considers are “practical ways forward which can both address Gibraltar’s footballing aspirations and the needs of the community as a whole, now and for the future.”
A statement issued this morning concludes: “Europa Point is an iconic location of huge importance to this community from social, cultural, historical and environmental perspectives. Given that an alternative location exists at Victoria Stadium, it is simply not the right location for a national stadium and does not constitute the best use of space given the constraints we face in Gibraltar. Given the opportunity, a future GSD Government would reverse such a decision to build at Europa Point.”
