Five hours into a meeting that yielded only mixed progress, the session on Friday outlined a path forward for the Alicante Coliseum situation. The Teatro Principal de Alicante, since 2018 jointly managed by Alicante City Council, Banco Sabadell, and the Generalitat Valenciana, serves as the seat of the general assembly and the governing council of the Community of Owners. A new appointment was scheduled within a month, aiming to resolve several long-standing issues haunting the venue. The leadership vacuum that emerged after Paco Sanguino left as director in April 2019 remains unresolved three years later. Maria Dolores Padilla has been involved in a selection process to oversee the address, while the theater’s debt has climbed to 900,000 euros. The response service of the City Council has hindered the ability to pay part of the 3 million euros contributed by the Generalitat, complicating the use of those funds for municipal rehabilitation projects related to the Colosseum.
The hopeful note from the day was that the meeting ended without bitter clashes or attempts to seize control, unlike the last gathering held about a year prior. There was a clear willingness to keep talking, with another session planned for November.
During today’s discussions, the 2022 theater budget was confirmed at 2,400,000 euros and the initial half of the 2023 program was presented. Maria Dolores Padilla introduced the administration and was praised by the mayor, Luis Barcala, although the second portion of the program remains pending. A forecast for the next year’s budget was discussed as well, along with the fundamentals governing the director/manager selection process to be raised again at the November meeting at the Generalitat’s request. The regional secretary for Culture, Ximo López, attended the first meeting with Undersecretary Eva Coscolla and IVC director Abel Guarino.
The core dispute centered on the programming planned for the upcoming season, with the Generalitat asking for a more detailed report on what had been contracted in the first part of 2023 and the criteria used. Attendees noted outlines were presented, while the Generalitat and allied parties—PSOE, United We Can, and Compromís—believe the owners’ financial contribution to the theater should rise. The proposed second term programming would increase from 140,000 euros in the current year to 180,000 euros for each owner, with the aim of delivering programming that better reflects inclusive approaches, a broader array of works, and greater promotion of authors and directors from Alicante as well as Valencian talent. Xavi López of United We Can spoke to these points. Trini Amorós, representing PSOE, advocated that the annual 2023 contribution should be 250,000 or 3,000,000 euros to settle the debt. It was argued that higher budgets correlate with higher quality programming and profitability, though Sabadell expressed concerns about the impact on the box office, a stance that was reiterated during the discussions.
Barcala commented that there is little value in producing programming that fails to attract an audience, noting that the past two seasons have recovered the attendance lost during the pandemic.
For the Generalitat, the 2023 outlook included a commitment to exploring budget increases for programming, with plans to adjust the 2023 budget upward based on the results of the November meeting. The Ministry of Culture was asked to address the matter in the minutes of the previous gathering, though the director contest was not on the agenda. It was agreed to include this item at the next meeting, with the city council promising to submit a proposal for the selection process. Since 2019, when the Generalitat proposed a competition that the City Council rejected, the need for a clear process remains a priority for the Generalitat, given the cultural importance of appointing a director capable of driving a strong project in cultural terms.
For the City Council government team, however, the director search is not the top priority compared with debt settlement and rehabilitation measures. Cultural Council Member Antonio Manresa said the council would continue to discuss governance issues, underscoring that the dialogue remains ongoing. In Manresa’s view, the meeting was broadly positive and productive: an agreement on the theater’s programming and budget was reached, and steps toward rehabilitation were outlined, despite ongoing obstacles from oversight bodies.
The mayor highlighted the debt and rehabilitation as ongoing concerns, noting that the terms set by the auditor must be respected. He indicated that the reform plan requires agreement already in place with Sabadell and that two additional questions must be addressed: the owners’ commitment to tender the rehabilitation outlined in today’s meeting and a commitment letter from Sabadell supporting the City Council’s reform path.
Despite a somewhat sketchy rehabilitation plan, Manresa estimates that bidding will take four to five months and construction would likely begin next summer, taking advantage of the usual seasonal pause to replace seats.
audience growth
The City Council noted that 2021 still faced capacity restrictions, complicating management as shows operated at 50% to 75% capacity yet attendance gradually rose. Audience figures show 26,992 attendees in 2020 and 52,929 in 2021, with box office revenue reaching 1,180,519.33 euros despite ongoing limitations.
In the 2021 revenue budget, partial deviations resulted in a final revenue deviation of 552,307.68 euros and expenses of 497,858.85 euros. The year’s outcome reflected obligations met and accrued, supported by box office revenue and contributions of 180,000 euros each from the City Council, Banco Sabadell Foundation, and Generalitat Valenciana for 2022.
opposition critique
Reconciliation spokesperson Natxo Belido suggested that another month may not be enough to address the same issues with the theater owners and lamented that a full four-year legislature has passed without a fixed rehabilitation plan or a transparent process for selecting a new director.
Socialist Trini Amorós criticized the city’s leadership for not pushing harder to secure the director position, questioning whether a government could run a theater without a stable model or sufficient funds to service its debt. He framed ongoing intervention problems as masking a lack of political will, implying stagnation that hinders progress.
Xavi López of United We Can identified debt approaching one million euros as the principal obstacle to programming and emphasized the need for clear steps to control programming and management while ensuring the necessary funds remain accessible rather than blocked by intervention constraints.