«The Island needs and deserves a Tenerife Arena that can host everything from big concerts to a First Division team». This was assured yesterday by the president of the Cabildo, Rosa Dávila in statements to the Ser network corroborated by El DÍA. She pointed to the current grounds of the Santa Cruz Refinery as a possible location after the start of the dismantling process set to conclude in 2027 following the transfer of the land to the capital City Council. “If the island’s citizens desire it, we can start designing it in that location,” added the island’s president, who reflected: “Ed Sheeran – the popular British singer who will perform a concert on June 29 at the Heliodoro Rodríguez López Stadium – could offer his performance to 50,000 or 60,000 people”. Instead of the approximately 20,000 who will attend (with sold-out tickets) at the venue on San Sebastián street.
Limited Spaces
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Rosa Dávila also considers that “the spaces we can set up for this type of events have become too small”. As an illustrative example, the Tenerife-born Cruz Cafuné will be at the Santa Cruz Fairground this Saturday and has sold 12,000 tickets for the concert that closes his tour. The president emphasizes that “if Tenerife wants – because it is clear that it can – to participate in the best league as a venue for the world’s most important events, it needs facilities that can accommodate those musical, sporting, cultural, or leisure spectacles”.
Possible Location
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Regarding the possible future location, Dávila does not rule out the option of the space that will be freed up by the Cepsa Refinery, although she warns that “there is nothing even sketched out yet in that area of the city, but the Government of the Canary Islands, the Cabildo de Tenerife, and the Santa Cruz City Council are working hand in hand on one of the most important projects for the capital, the island, and the Canary Islands, which is the dismantling of a heavy industry that was essential at another point in our history but is undoubtedly polluting today”. Rosa Dávila emphasizes that “it is now being dismantled, and there is a whole process of making available to the capital and the inhabitants of Santa Cruz many square meters where we could dream of a Tenerife Arena”.
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Carlos Tarife’s Idea
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Last December, Carlos Tarife (PP), first deputy mayor of the Santa Cruz City Council, proposed in statements to EL DÍA to build a new stadium on the grounds of the Refinery and “replace the Heliodoro with a Tenerife Arena” intended for hosting large concerts and major events. The Public Services councilor and Popular Party spokesperson in the capital then advocated for a change of location for the Stadium, “as the current facility has issues, the solution to which lies in the construction of a new infrastructure”. However, also within Santa Cruz de Tenerife.
