Rio Preto EC wins court ruling to maintain possession of stadium land

A court in Rio Preto has ruled in favor of Rio Preto Esporte Clube, upholding the club's possession of approximately 4,500 square meters of land surrounding the Anísio Haddad Stadium.

Judge Marcelo Andreotti of the 1st Public Treasury Court determined that the municipal administration's attempt to evict the club was legally inadequate. The dispute began following an extrajudicial notification by former Secretary of Works and Vice-Mayor Fábio Marcondes, which ordered the club to vacate the area within 90 days. The land, used for decades for parking, stalls, and commercial shops, was originally part of the club's property and donated to the City Hall in 1968 on the condition that a plaza be built in front of the stadium.

Because the plaza was never constructed, a municipal law passed in 1995 returned the area to the club. The judge noted that the administrative act to remove the club contradicted civil, constitutional, and administrative law principles, describing the municipality's justification for the eviction as “juridically unsustainable.”