The Administrative Dispute Court (Tribunal Contencioso Administrativo) will make a ruling on the Chorotega Stadium property during the first half of May.
The judgment will clarify ownership of the land where the facility is located. The stadium has been used for more than 70 years by the Municipality of Nicoya and the Costa Rican Institute of Sports and Recreation (ICODER – Instituto Costarricense de Deportes y Recreación) for sports events.
Judges Amalia Umaña Salazar, Isaac Amador Hernandez, and Rodrigo Campos Leal visited the complex on Tuesday, April 29. They also held an audience at the court in Nicoya, where they heard arguments and evidence presented by the parties involved.
Katya Sanchun Acosta is suing the municipality and ICODER, claiming that the land where the stadium is located and the nearby streets belonged to her father, Julian Sanchun Chen, and that she is the rightful heiress of that land.
In addition, Sanchun Acosta is trying to collect ₡1,320 million ($2.64 million) for the alleged seizure of the land for all these years, or to receive one or two municipal properties of equal value to the stadium land.
Humberto Leon Abadia, a lawyer for the municipality, stated that the mayor’s office paid for the land twice. “The first land was bought from Andres Sanchun Chen (Julian Sanchun’s brother) but because of an error, the stadium was built on the property of Julian Sachun Acosta’s land,” he explained.
The lawyer recalled that at the time, the municipality paid 150,000 colones ($300) for the purchase of the second property.
Comments