José Luis Martínez Almeyda, Mayor of Madrid, during the presentation of the City of Sport. /
The project based next to the Metropolitano on a million square meters will cost more than 200 million euros and the rojiblanco club will invest at least 53.6
The future Sports City of Atlético de Madrid, which will be built on a million square meters in the surroundings of the Metropolitano stadium, will cost more than 200 million euros and is expected to be built “in two or three years”, it will have a athletics stadium, a mini-stadium with capacity for 6,000 spectators, a high-performance center with six soccer fields, four sports courts, a hotel and even an artificial beach. The new sports city of the rojiblanco club will be built on the land that was going to be used for the Madrid Olympic project, on five plots, three of them ceded by the City Council to Atlético for a period of 75 years, while the other two will be used to build sports facilities “for public use and enjoyment of all Madrid residents”.
Atlético will invest at least 53.6 million euros for the construction of the facilities and the connection with the M-40, to make “a project that materializes the vision of Miguel Ángel Gil (CEO of the club), who has achieved that the dream on which he has worked tirelessly during these years becomes a great illusion and a legacy”, as the rojiblanco president, Enrique Cerezo, acknowledged on Tuesday. “This project is going to change our history,” ventured the top leader of the mattress club, while the mayor of the capital, José Luis Martínez-Almeyda, welcomed the fact that Madrid will be able to boast of “a sports city like few other cities in the world” .
In the facilities where the mini-stadium will be built, which will have the same capacity as the Alfredo Di Stéfano at Real Madrid’s Ciudad Deportiva de Valdebebas, 25 paddle tennis courts, a climbing wall, a space for teaching and practicing surfing will also be built and an area for the practice of skating (skating) and jumping (trampoline), among other disciplines, as announced by the City Council. “It will be a unique city that will combine sport, leisure and well-being for all Madrid residents,” he assured in the video projected this Tuesday during the presentation of the ambitious project at the rojiblanco stadium, which from now on will bear the name of Cívitas Metropolitano. “The beach with an artificial wave will allow the people of Madrid to surf without leaving the city,” it was also noted in said video.
“Unparalleled”
“It is a long-awaited and desired project by Atlético de Madrid, by Miguel Ángel Gil and by Enrique Cerezo”, highlighted the mayor of the capital, for whom “Atlético will have a sports city like few other sports entities are going to have in the world , equipped with the best facilities. “All the people of Madrid, and especially the residents of San Blas-Canillejas, will be able to have unparalleled sports facilities,” said Almeyda, a fervent mattress fan.
A dozen football pitches will be built in the high-performance center for the rojiblanco club and its first team, which will train again in the capital, while the mini-stadium will be played by Atlético Mujeres, Atlético B and the rojiblanco team which will participate in the UEFA Youth League. Also in the high-performance center there will be a residence, a gym and a medical center, as well as another private car park.
“The future City of Sports will be built on the land that was going to be used for the city’s Olympic project and that was practically abandoned,” recalled the City Council, which however did not clarify what will happen to the aquatic center that died with the failed Olympic projects in Madrid. “With this project we honor the title of World Capital of Sport that was granted to us for 2022,” said the mayor of the capital.
