A Spanish judge has indicted the Real Madrid football club over noises made from concerts in its stadium, paving the way for it to stand trial.
“There are indications that alleged crimes were committed,” Judge Mónica Aguirre de Cuesta, who led the investigation, said in a ruling dated Jan. 15, a copy of which was seen by Bloomberg News. “There are indications that sound limits were exceeded at every concert,” Aguirre de Cuesta added.
It is now up to the prosecutor to bring charges or request that the club be cleared. Aguirre de Cuesta's decision can be appealed.
Real Madrid, the world's most valuable football club, carried out a major, five-year renovation of it stadium that started in 2019 and cost well over €1 billion, in part to create a concert venue to generate revenue on days when there are no matches.
But once works were completed and concerts by stars such as Taylor Swift were held, neighbors began protesting over noise levels and went to court.
Unlike the vast majority of Europe's top-tier teams, Real Madrid isn't owned by wealthy investors, corporations or states. Instead, it's owned by thousands of fee-paying members, making it far more reliant than most clubs on its own revenues. Even so, it's Europe's most successful team, having won the European Champions League 15 times.
The Bernabéu stadium is located in central Madrid, in the affluent neighborhood of Chamartín, and the protests drew widespread attention. Angry local residents created a group called “Neighbors Affected by the Bernabéu” and filed a complaint in against the club.
Following the protests and several fines from the Madrid city government, the club stopped hosting concerts while it looks for ways to soundproof the stadium. Neighbors are also protesting against plans to build large parking facilitiess under the stadium, and construction has been halted.
The stadium was traditionally called Santiago Bernabéu, but its name was recently shortened.
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