The Tarragona City Council wants to completely exit the capital of Gimnàstic de Tarragona. The mayor, Rubén Viñuales, announced in an interview on Tarragona Ràdio that his intention is for the council to stop holding shares in the club, although he did not set a deadline for this withdrawal.
The announcement comes at a time when municipal presence is already minority, with around 7% of the shareholding, but it contrasts with the weight the council had a decade ago, when it controlled 50% of the SAD, was the main shareholder, and assumed the presidency of the club during its time in the First Division.
The City Council has gone from 50% to 7% of the Nàstic capital
Viñuales summarized this objective with a direct phrase.
"My intention is to end up not having any stake in the Gimnàstic club" - Rubén Viñuales, mayor of Tarragona
Municipal participation has been decreasing since 2013 with each capital increase. This process has left the council with a package close to 7%, far from the position it held for years within the sports public limited company.
In that previous period, the City Council was not only the main shareholder. It also held the club's presidency under the then Sports Councilor Raül Font, from CiU, between the end of 2006 and mid-2007, when the team competed in the First Division.
Viñuales links the withdrawal to the current board situation
The mayor defended the role the local administration played when the club was going through financial difficulties. In the interview, he recalled that the City Council intervened in a delicate stage to avoid an outcome similar to that of another nearby city.
"The City Council saved Nàstic at a very complicated time, and if not, look at what happened to the next city" - Rubén Viñuales, mayor of Tarragona
The possible complete exit from the capital coincides with another change in the club's structure. Fredrik Wester's departure from the board of directors occurs at the same time that the entity has shown willingness to listen to a real and serious project.
Viñuales also placed the debate on Nàstic's identity and the type of shareholder future he considers acceptable for the Tarragona entity. The mayor stressed that the club's age, in his opinion, requires preserving that respect in any handover.
"Nàstic is the oldest sports club in all of Spain and that has to mean something. If someone from outside comes who knows how to respect, well, look, but if someone from home comes who doesn't know how to respect, that's not good for me either," stated Rubén Viñuales on Tarragona Ràdio.
The starting point remains that the council holds around 7% of the shares, after having controlled 50% of the SAD's shareholding a decade ago.