a great trial by fire for Badalona

BadalonaBadalona, ​​which has not hosted the tournament since the 1984-85 season, is already ready to host the Copa del Rei basketball from Thursday, a strategic event that should serve to accentuate the city’s ties with the ball orange “The city is living these days before with a lot of emotion. All the collectives of Badalona have been involved and it is a great historical opportunity for the city. It had been four decades since we had this event and we are happy because basketball is coming back at home. One of our goals was for the whole city to feel the tournament as their own, and the response has been very good. We want Badalona to be seen in a positive light, which we want to project,” says Rubén Guijarro, mayor, to ARA from Badalona.

The ACB and Badalona have been planning different recreational proposals for weeks so that the tournament goes beyond the sports competition that will bring together the eight best teams of the Endesa League, among them Barça and Joventut. The offer, which is spread across the city, includes fan zones, concerts, food fairs, exhibitions, street basketball games, training sessions for coaches and meetings between fans. In addition, during the days of the competition, three purple points will be installed in the city to inform, raise awareness, prevent and act against sexist violence.

“The Cup is an event that has allowed us to compete in the league of the main cities and overcome candidates such as Barcelona, ​​Málaga or Valencia. When we were granted the organization, the aim was for people to stay in Badalona . All the hotel places in the city are occupied and the Airbnb accommodations are sold out. The only available option was to sleep on a boat in the harbor at 200 euros a night. The shops and restaurants have customized their premises,” he explains Guijarro, who signed a ban to extend hourly licenses.

Antonio Martín, president of the ACB, is very satisfied with Badalona’s bet. “The City Council has been very involved from the beginning to be able to hold this tournament. In addition, whatever happens on the court will also be very entertaining and fun. Badalona will live basketball and people will have a great time”. the ex-player goes on.

The neighborhood of Llefià, the most populated and diverse in the municipality, will host the Endesa Mini Cup, a tournament aimed at children’s players. “It is good news because the boys and girls will be able to see up close the players who in a few years will be their idols. In addition, it will help us to integrate basketball in the Llefià neighborhood. It is a reinforcement of I hope that it will help us make our sport known,” explains Albert Tomàs, president of UB Llefià, to the ARA.

Another of the council’s objectives was to take advantage of the Copa del Rey’s impetus to bring the sports facilities up to date. The municipal sports centers of Badalona will receive an investment of nearly 11 million euros intended to adapt and improve the equipment. The works involve in a first phase six sports centers, with an investment of 3.4 million euros, and a second phase, with the comprehensive reform of the Països Catalans sports center, worth 7.3 million euros. “We want the Cup to leave its mark on the city. After a decade without investment or maintenance, the facilities needed to be brought up to date. The tournament will be a turning point for a basketball city,” summarizes the mayor

Untimely leaks

Despite the investments, the recent rains have once again revealed problems with leaks in different pavilions, including those in Bufalà or La Plana. In addition, a group of fans has organized to denounce the poor state of many of the public tracks. “We will change the roofs of all the facilities, we will fix parquet floors, changing rooms and the hot water system. The works must be compatible with the occupation of the spaces and the dispute of the different competitions and, therefore, they go to a different rhythm. We have also started energy efficiency improvements. When the sports season is over, the facilities will be as they should be,” says Guijarro.

Outdoor tracks also need financial investment. “For two decades the municipality has lost public courts and the few that remain are not maintained. The school league has disappeared and the pavilions suffer from the neglect of the administration. We have been complaining about this neglect for a long time, there there is someone in the council. We wonder if the city is ready for this great event. There are more than 80% of the clubs tangled with the awarding of works in the pavilions, they suffer from the lack of regulations of uses, they have leaks, the boiler doesn’t work or the floor rises”, remembers José Hita, spokesperson for the Juguem a Básquet platform.