Ekkurdia, during a match in the Aste Nagusia tournament. /
The companies are “happy” with the public response and the sale of festivals, and are “optimistic” for the last month
Fears about the consequences of the pandemic have been left behind. Professional handball companies are “happy” with how the summer is going and are optimistic about the last month. The response from the public in the tournaments that have been played so far has been positive, as well as the interest on the part of the town councils when it comes to selling festivals. “It is similar to 2019 and in some cases even better,” they said.
The best thermometer to see where the summer season could go was the San Fermín tournament and the interest of the fans was evident since the tickets went on sale. “There were days in which people were left out due to lack of capacity,” they highlighted. The second of the championships was that of La Blanca de Vitoria, which added better numbers than three years ago. «From the promoters we already made it clear in their presentation that the bet we were going to make for this fronton throughout the year is important. At least four other festivals are planned, “they added.
The fair in Bilbao, which included the final of the Bizkaia tournament, went from less to more and has also left the operators satisfied with their ability to attract people. “We have confirmed that, as the weekend approaches, the public becomes more excited when it comes to going to the fronton and the atmosphere has been good.”
On Friday the final of the City of San Sebastián will arrive, whose only semifinal despite the absence of Altuna, “was not bad”. “We are going to see how the summit clash behaves because it is a very attractive meeting,” they stressed. Then only the San Mateo fair will remain, for which the companies have made a strong commitment and have returned to the format of eight festivals, «in which a couples tournament with the best pelota players will be scheduled. Tickets will go on sale starting today online.
competition
The organization of the CaixaBank Masters throughout the summer has also generated interest in the municipalities when hiring festivals «because some of them want competition instead of an exhibition meeting. It has been possible to combine both options”, they pointed out. In addition, localities have been reached where there were not even patron saint festivities, which is when this sport is most in demand. “We have had some request that we have not been able to attend to,” they pointed out.
On the sporting front, the injuries of important pelotaris such as Altuna III and Laso have somewhat disrupted the schedules, “but it is a risk that always exists due to the number of games that are played,” they admitted. After the dispute of four championships throughout the last months, Baiko surpasses Aspe. The appointments of Pamplona, Bilbao and the Bizkaia tournament have been for the pelota players of the Bilbao promoter, while those of the Gipuzkoa took over the Vitoria appointment.
