“This time it’s serious,” the song says. After several failed attempts, Argentine rugby will finally have its High Performance Center. With the acquisition of a 10-hectare property in the town of Cardales, The UAR made a long-awaited dream come true and necessary for the development of a discipline that aspires to fight the powers.
In this way, just as the AFA has its space in Ezeiza, the Pumas and the rest of the national teams will have their own property where they can train, train, concentrate and even stay. The purchase of the land is the first step of the project that is expected to be completed in 30 months (two and a half years). and which includes the construction of five natural grass fields, one synthetic grass field and a two-story main building that includes a highly complex gym, locker rooms and rooms to accommodate about 60 athletes, among other facilities.
On June 23, 2010, Pumas players, UAR leaders, Sergio Massa, World Rugby president Bernard Lapasset and then vice and later successor Bill Beaumont gathered at the Tigre Museum to announce the construction of a center. high perfomance. It would be installed in Benavídez, on land given by the municipality of Tigre. It was left in nothing. Then the possibility arose of settling on a property given by the Municipality of Campana. “We were about to start working with a machine to level the land and about seven owners showed up,” recalls Gabriel Travaglini, president of the UAR.
Faced with this circumstance, the union chose to back down. More recently, in 2019, something similar happened with a property they had received from the Municipality of Pilar, which was frustrated by the intervention of the State Property Administration Agency (AABE) when the local government changed its political direction. Another frustrated case occurred two years later, already detached from the State’s handouts, when the UAR had everything agreed to acquire 12 hectares in the country of San Diego, in Moreno. The owners had approved the sale in a close election, but one of those who opposed filed an injunction and the deal fell through.
The acquisition of the land and the future construction of the facilities, which have not yet been put out to tender, They were produced thanks to the financial contribution of World Rugby. “It is an item that Agustín Pichot managed many years ago,” explains Travaglini, consulted by LA NACION. “According to the agreement, World Rugby was advancing us funds for the creation of this Center that could not be used for another purpose. That money was saved and, to avoid any diversion, three years ago a trust was created in the United States where the funds reside.” The UAR did not report the cost of the land acquisition or future works, since they have not yet been put out to tender.
The 10-hectare property, part of a larger real estate project, is located at kilometer 4 of Route 4, in Los Cardales, at kilometer 61 of National Route No. 9 (the Pan-American Campana branch). For the construction of the property, Travaglini says, the UAR visited the different rugby centers of the other powers, such as Pennyhill in England west of London, Marcoussis in France south of Paris or the one adjacent to Newlands, City of Cabo, in South Africa, among others. All Tier 1 nations have their center, only Argentina was missing.
When you are in Argentina, The Pumas will have their own home there, but so will the rest of the selected ones: Pumas 7s, Pumitas, Argentina XV, Pampas, Yaguaretés and the Academies. Likewise, it will host Rugby Seguro, Conecta Rugby and Rugby Conciencia y Cultura actions. The main building has two floors and a total area of 10,972m2. There, in addition to what was mentioned, sports offices, medical offices, special spaces for kinesiology, psychology and nutrition of athletes, rooms for training courses, an auditorium, a dining room, rest and recreation rooms, video rooms and a studio for productions, as stated in the statement sent by the UAR. There will be another semi-covered sector for a 200m2 barbecue area and a 600m2 warehouse will also be built.
“The main purpose of the creation of this CNR is to centralize all the activities of the UAR, to have a structure to optimize the human resources and organizational capacity of our sport, with the focus on the excellence of the players and the game”, keep going. “The commitment is to make available a cutting-edge space for all sectors of the Union to interact, from what has to do with the base of this game (from the 574 clubs), the thousands of volunteers who collaborate in different areas, the referees, the physical trainers and even the Pumas squad. Although it will be a place to support High Performance work, everyone will have their space in the CNR.”
To take into account what this work entails, since 2019 the Pumas and the various teams have trained in Espacio Mendoza, a property that they temporarily ceded to the UAR located in Ingeniero Maschwitz of 4 hectares, with only one full field and another on the half and without a housing complex, which forces players to stay in hotels.
“We owed this Center to not wander around like a nomad,” Travaglini sentence. “This implies energy for the development of rugby. Not only preparation for top-level athletes, but also safety training, to raise the level of referees, for all of Argentine rugby.”
This time, it seems, he is serious.