The bullring in Muro is edging closer to returning to regular use, after the local council launched a third attempt to find a company willing to manage the municipally owned venue. Following two failed public tenders, the council has opened a negotiated procedure and directly invited Baleares Cambio de Tercio – the bullfighting promoter that has already rented the arena twice this year.
Despite the concession not yet being formalised, the company has been running the ‘Plaza de Toros La Monumental’ social media accounts since July to publicise the events it organised on 14 September and 7 December.
New operator and obligations
Under the proposed agreement, the company would take over the bullring for €4,500 per year and assume responsibility for its upkeep. Baleares Cambio de Tercio says it has already invested in refurbishing the venue ahead of its September festival, repainting the structure, renewing the sand and alberos, repairing pen gates and installing new cattle pens. The firm also manages the privately owned bullring in Inca.
The 14 September event marked the first bullfighting festival held in Muro since 2017, the year the venue celebrated its centenary. A second festival on 7 December reportedly sold out the roughly 5,000-seat arena.
If the negotiated deal goes ahead, the operator would be required to organise at least one bullfighting event a year during Muro’s Sant Joan festivities, allow the council ten days’ use of the venue annually, keep the bar open, ensure the bullring can be visited, and host several non-bullfighting events such as concerts.
Animal welfare groups criticise decision
The return of bullfighting after an eight-year hiatus has provoked strong criticism from animal-rights organisations. The Franz Weber Foundation condemned the council’s approach, arguing it was effectively enabling the comeback of bullfighting by “renting the bullring for barely €300 a day”.
Mayor Miquel Porquer has defended the council’s stance, insisting he remains neutral on bullfighting and is focused on preventing the publicly owned site from deteriorating and becoming a financial burden for residents.
On Sunday, activists from Satya Animal, Mallorca Against Bullfighting, PETA, Progreso en Verde and the Franz Weber Foundation staged a protest outside the bullring.
A century-old arena
La Monumental, a 4,000-square-metre structure built between 1910 and 1922 in a former marès quarry within the town centre, became municipal property in 2010 when the council bought it from the Balañá Group for €450,000. At the current pace, critics note, it may take another century for the cost of the historic arena to be fully recovered.