The stadium being built for Spanish football club Atletico Madrid appears to be on track after doubts were cast over its viability by local councillors.

Atletico posted a photograph of the semi-constructed stadium to its 1.1m Instagram followers last week (3 December). The picture, titled ‘New stadium’, shows the hollowed-out part of the facility which will home one of its three video scoreboards and premises control units.

The €200m (£144m, US$218m) development is due to be completed by the start of the 2016/17 season after plans for the venue were originally revealed in 2011. The 70,000-capacity stadium is being built on the site of the Estadio La Peineta athletics ground, and is being financed by the development of the land on which the current Atletico stadium – the Vicente Calderon – presently stands.

In October, Spanish newspaper AS published a report which revealed political opposition to the stadium, with mayoress Manuela Carmena quoted as saying she did not agree with the “viability” of the venue and did not support the plans.

Councillor for sustainable urban development, Jose Manuel Calvo, agreed there were doubts over the “viable reality” of the move, but added the caveat that it “hasn’t been ruled out”.

However, Atletico chief executive Miguel Angel Gil Marin said the project was on track, and would help the club bridge the revenue gap with other big clubs, according to ESPN.

“In January we will open the office where fans will already be able to choose where they will sit in the new stadium,” he said. “The sale of VIP and private box tickets will also start, all we are doing to make this leap which we need.”

The stadium, which is located in the east of Madrid, was designed by Cruz y Ortiz Arquitectos.