LaLiga Owner Eyes CVC Funds to Put Galicia on the Map
CVC Capital Partners’ recent investment deal with LaLiga has made a believer out of at least one team owner in the Spanish League, thanks to the release of the first tranche of funds from a new joint venture that will help him build a massive new sports development project for the region in Spain.
Carlos Mouriño believes that Galicia Sports 360, his mega sports and entertainment project, will change the future of Galicia as much as it will help his soccer team, Celta de Vigo.
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“It is a $120 million investment, which is a small investment for big clubs,” Mouriño told Sportico in an exclusive interview. “But it is a huge undertaking for us, considering our yearly budget is only 80 million euros [$85 million].”
Mouriño is the president and largest shareholder of Real Club Celta de Vigo (Celta), a Spanish professional soccer club based in Galicia. Founded in 1923, the club was in the second division when Mouriño bought it 16 years ago, and in the first years of his ownership, he erased its debt of $85 million. “I took an American approach of ownership,” he said. “I wanted to focus on the business to save the club.”
Mouriño’s success on and off the pitch has helped Celta remain in the first division for the last 11 seasons, which is on par with eight other clubs, including FC Barcelona and Real Madrid. Celta has also trained some of LaLiga’s top players, including Iago Aspas, the league’s top scorer.
The idea of creating a multipurpose sports facility city started long before CVC Capital Partners’ $2.4 billion investment in LaLiga called Boost LaLiga (LaLiga Impulso). “CVC’s funds will come in handy and help us finish it faster,” Mouriño said. “With the money, we can do it all at once. The stadium, hotels, research center and sports facilities. They can all be ready in less than seven years.”
The GS 360 includes laboratories for research, facilities for sports tourism, a sports medicine center, and facilities for practicing all sorts of sports. The club compares the project to Le Tremplin in Paris, Sportech HUB of London and F.C. Barcelona’s Sportech HUB23.
In 2021, Laliga’s general assembly approved league president Javier Tebas’ proposal to form a joint venture with CVC called Boost LaLiga. Under the agreement, 37 of the LaLiga’s 42 clubs first- and second-division clubs will accept the $2.4 billion investment from CVC. Clubs must use the funds for technology, innovation, international marketing and growth of the sport. According to LaLiga’s CVC deal, clubs have already received $400 million from the investment last month.
“I am not Javier Tebas’ friend. I did not even vote for him,” Mouriño said. “Javier Tebas convinced me when he started doing things for LaLiga. I am a huge fan of what he has done for the league. But I am not his friend.”
Mouriño’s GS 360 project is also timely, given the region’s potential future as a World Cup host. Spain and Portugal are in the midst of a joint official bid to host the 2030 men’s World Cup. The Iberian peninsula countries added Ukraine to their bid, in part to accommodate the expanded 48-team field, but Spain will serve as the primary host of the tournament with 11 venues to be selected.
GS 360 is not one of the proposed World Cup venues, but the facilities piqued the interest of international sports entities. In his recent visit to New York, Mouriño said he met with the executives from NBA and sports and entertainment management firm Legends.
“[Legends] are interested in the project and will visit us soon in Vigo,” he said. “The Qatari-owned soccer club Paris Saint Germain has just made a significant investment offer. The football world is going at such speed that we either move or stay behind. And that does not mean anything right now, but any possibility is open.”
