Real Madrid is being sued for over £13 million by the company awarded the rights to operate the new premium SkyBar hospitality suite at the renovated Bernabeu stadium.

The SkyBar, a 700-square-meter luxury space with a capacity of 200, was touted as the crown jewel of the stadium’s £1.5 billion redevelopment.

Tickets were expected to cost up to £2,500 per match, potentially generating £500,000 per home game for Real Madrid.

However, the SkyBar has remained unopened, six months after it was originally scheduled to welcome guests. This has prompted Anastasia Gourmet, the company awarded the rights to run the space, to file a lawsuit against the club.

The lawsuit claims Anastasia Gourmet has been blocked from accessing the new premises, leading to an estimated £6 million in losses from suppliers. Real Madrid has not yet commented on the legal challenge.

The delay in opening the SkyBar is reportedly due to issues with adapting the stadium to comply with local anti-noise regulations, after protests from neighbors. This has also led to a suspension of the Bernabeu’s concert hosting rights until spring 2025.

With the majority of the Bernabeu’s £1.5 billion redevelopment complete, the final stages are now expected to be finished by January 2025.

But the legal dispute over the SkyBar represents an unwelcome complication for Real Madrid as they seek to maximize the revenue potential of their revamped stadium.