Message from Layhoon Chan regarding the new Valencia CF stadium

Layhoon Chan gave a press conference to update fans and the media on the developments in the new Valencia CF stadium project.

"Hello everybody. It is an honour to be back here and to see you again after five years. I am here representing the club's majority shareholder, Meriton, coming to Valencia to support the club's new management and, most importantly, to find a balanced solution for our new stadium -a very important project for the club and for the city.

As you already know, I have met with regional president Ximo Puig, city mayor Joan Ribò, deputy mayor Sandra Gómez and a number of departments in the regional government and city council.

I would like to express my appreciation to all of them for taking the time to meet with me in these two weeks.

There have been many reports in the media, so I feel that it is important for me to speak to you directly, as well as to speak to our fans about the situation with this important project."

"From all the meetings that I have had with the authorities, one message that has been made very clear to me is that the ATE will be cancelled, and there will be no extension for the ATE, based on a legal report that was issued in August of last year.

However, it was also a very clear message to me that, if we meet all of the conditions of the ATE, we will be able to keep all the benefits under the ATE.

I have asked them if there is anything that I can do to stop the cancellation of the ATE, and I was told that there was nothing I could do.

I was also told that there is no chance of an extension, and that there is nothing I can do about that. Honestly, I don't really understand why, and I'm not exactly clear how we can move forward to get our licence.

But to me it is very clear that I have to make every effort to explain and demonstrate to the authorities that we are committed to building the stadium.

I think the most important thing is to demonstrate to the authorities that we are always looking to comply with the ATE, to make this project a successful one for everyone."

"Our commitment to the club has not changed in the last eight years. We are committed to the club every day, to keep the club going. I'm sure that you can remember that, more than 15 years ago, the club began to build the new stadium, without the money to finish it, and also we did not own the land. We have always been very careful to not make the same financial mistakes as in the past, and have been very proactive in finding a balance solution for the stadium, balancing the implementation of the project, parity in sport, and the financial security of the club. On the other hand, we have to sell Mestalla, because it does not make sense to have two stadiums, and Mestalla is mortgaged to the bank for 200m euros. After eight years, today we have reduced the loan by half.

You will remember that the first day that I arrived at the club, the first thing that I did was settle the purchase of the stadium land with the City Council. Under the land swap agreement, we bought the new stadium for 45m euros, and undertook to make the balance payment of 19m without negotiating for the land price.

The club has to write off the 19m in the same year, because the price had dropped by more than half. Also, we lost money with the land that we bought for the land swap agreement. Please be fair to the club.

At the same time, in 2015 we signed a new ATE with the administration. The ATE was designed to be developed in ten years, and can be extended for another five years if necessary, depending on the economic situation. So you will appreciate why I could not understand why we are in this situation today."

"During the last 8 years we have not been idle, not doing anything. We have appointed real estate, financial and commercial consultants, we have negotiated with potential buyers, and we have entered into conversations with different sports operators. We have done many studies on the new stadium, but at the same time we were trying to sell the old stadium. Finally, in 2018, after a bidding process, we reached an agreement with ADU, which presented us with an innovative model and allowed us to agree on a good price for the old Mestalla. The ADU project received the blessing of the public administrations, and they shared our vision that the project would be extraordinarily for the city and that it could solve the problem of the new stadium. However, due to the poor real estate market conditions, the sale to ADU was not completed and ended in 2020. Then there were two years of COVID that have, and still affect, our economy and our lives. Under these circumstances, in April 2021 we began to explore the possibility of an extension with the authorities. During that period, despite the difficulties, we continued searching for a proposal to present to the administration, but it was very difficult. The situation is very difficult, but it is not the case that we do not want to build the stadium.

In August of 2021, LaLiga informed us that there would be financing from CVC. I believe that many LaLiga clubs will benefit from CVC financing and that we will be able to improve our infrastructure. Today we are ready to start the project. However, despite our efforts it seems that we have not made much progress on this matter. This is where we are today. I am very happy to say that in the last two weeks we have been able to move an important step forward with the administrations, and we are going to take a step forward to agree with the City Council on four points."

"First of all, I have guaranteed to the City Council that we will build a stadium of 70,000 capacity. However, we want to work in phases depending on the attendance we have. If we look at the average attendance statistics for the last 15 years, our average attendance is 35,000 people and the highest is 43,000. It is very important for the fans for us to have a good atmosphere in the stadium and that is why we have made this proposal to the City Council. We can always expand the capacity to 70,000 seats. I suppose you have seen in the presentation that was made, the design includes nine leisure and restaurant areas, with an unblocked view of the stadium. Those nine terraces occupy 4,000 seats. I have tried to persuade the mayor and deputy mayor that it is very important to maintain the nine terraces, because that is what makes it a unique stadium in Spain. I am happy that they have been able to see that singular and unique concept that I have explained. However, the City Council have stated that it is very important that it opens with a capacity of 70,000. With this compromise on the terraces, we have agreed that we will open with 66,000 seats. If that is the only way to proceed, we will comply with it.

Without affecting the match schedule, in the event that we were to host an event like the World Cup, we could go from 66,000 seats to 70,000 in five months. In fact, we have already expressed our interest that we would like to participate in the competition to host the 2030 World Cup.

The second point we have addressed is that the stadium will need 30-34 months of construction from the time the licence is given. If we are granted the licence as soon as possible, we could open the stadium in the summer of 2025.

Thirdly, we have also agreed that the City Council will build the sports centre in Benicalap, and the club will pay the cost. This cost will be 5.7 million plus VAT, which will be a total of 6.9 million, which the club will pay -supported by the work certifications. We have always been very happy to deliver this, because it was established as our obligation.

Finally, it is also the intention of the club to implement a solar roof. We are looking to collaborate with a solar industrial partner to find an alternative energy solution. As you can see, we are always working towards the future and not just trying to do the minimum. This installation will be able to generate enough energy to cover the needs of the stadium and its tertiary infrastructures. In the case of it producing a surplus, we would like to be able to collaborate with the City Council to supply the surrounding neighbourhoods with a clean energy solution.

When the stadium is finished, there are many possibilities for collaboration with the City Council, because it will be a very important infrastructure for the city. It is going to be a catalyst for the city on many levels: Football, tourism, hosting big events... It is going to be an emblematic, green and sustainable project. It not only benefits the fans, but also the city and its people. Today we are ready to go with these four points with which we have reached an agreement with the Generalitat and the City Council. We are not at the end yet, but we are on a very positive path. I would like to highlight that we have invested approximately 255 million euros in eight years -much more than anyone before in the club's history. A large part of that investment has gone to creditors, to public administrations and to pay debts incurred prior to our arrival. This has not been paid for by club members or club income, but rather has been paid exclusively by Meriton. We have also capitalised and made a recent capital increase without requesting a single euro from the club. Please don't get me wrong: I'm not boasting about the money invested in the club, but what I want to say is don't doubt our commitment to the club and the project. When it is complete, the investment in the stadium will have reached 300 million and it will be equipped to be a UEFA Category 4 stadium. The Metropolitan cost 240 million and San Mamés 211 million. If we talk about price per seat, the Metropolitano cost 3,500 per seat, and San Mamés 4,000 per seat. In our new stadium it will be more than 4,000 euros per seat.

In summary, I want to tell you that we would like to work hand in hand with the stakholders involved to make this project happen, so that our fans and the citizens of this city can enjoy the new stadium. We are ready to go. AMUNT Valencia!"