BarcelonaThe America’s Cup of sailing heats up engines. Although the most exciting part of the world’s oldest competition, where the champion will be decided, will not arrive until October 2024, this week the America’s Cup Experience, the official outreach center of the 37th edition of the cup. The center, which will be open from August 24 to May 2025, occupies the space of the old Imax building, in Port Vell, which has been completely renovated. The Imax, which had opened its doors in 1995, announced its closure in 2014, and had been idle since then.
The double Olympic medalist in sailing Natalia Via-Dufresne, director of external relations of the center, explained that “the purpose of this new dissemination center is to make the oldest competition in the sport known to the population, to make it accessible to everyone and to arouse interest in a city historically linked to the sea like Barcelona”. The center will have an area of 2,250 square meters and anticipates an influx of 8 million visitors until May 2025, as well as a collection of 1.2 million euros thanks to the payment area, as announced by the promoters of the project.
At the entrance, a large 5×8 m high-definition LED screen where videos of the competition’s history are projected will have the ability to broadcast the regattas live. Along the exhibition route, different spaces explain the history of the tournament and the secrets of the equipment’s technology, and the boats that aspire to be champions in 2024 are presented. In the visit for the press this Tuesday they took part members of the champion team, Team New Zealand.
“The center fuses the most advanced audiovisual technology with immersive elements,” comments Xavier Andrades, representative of the initiative’s promoters. “We have the concession of the building until May 2025, half a year after the end of the tournament,” he added, and admitted that they do not know what will happen to the Imax building after that. The concession was granted by the board of directors of the Port of Barcelona last March 30 to the company America’s Club House SL (linked to Dortoka Disseny SL), with a total investment of seven million euros.
In fact, in 2020 the board of directors of the Port of Barcelona approved the termination of the concession of the space to Teatro Imax Barcelona SA, which had closed the cinemas in 2014. At the time, the intention was to demolish the building, but the Copa America has given him a new life. What might happen after 2025, however, is still a mystery.
The center is divided into two areas. One that is free to access and another that can be accessed by ticket, with different prices depending on whether the navigation simulator is used. In the first part there is a life-size recreation of the America’s Cup trophy, the legendary Auld Mug or Hundred Guineas. Within the second part, for a fee, the two highlights will be a navigation simulator, which will be available from October 5, and the second largest cinema screen in Europe, with 611 m2 and 4K format to transmit all the emotions of the competition and a spectacular 9-minute film made by Mediapro about how the teams prepare, called One hell of a battle. In the audiovisual area there is also a “time tunnel”, a digital wave formed by monitors of all sizes that surrounds the visitor and explains how the competition has evolved throughout its 172-year history.
The center has two gastronomic spaces created with the prestigious chef Albert Ventura, from the Coure restaurant in Barcelona. Vraba Restaurant will be a commitment to signature cuisine on the upper floor of the center and will open its doors on September 12. Sailor’s Cove, on the other hand, is already open at the foot of the sea, with a Mediterranean-based offer.
The Cup is allowing a renovation process to go ahead at Port Vell in Barcelona, where the six international teams are currently working, and will spend almost two years in the Catalan capital training. If the bases of the six teams will be dismantled, other works will allow open spaces now closed to citizens. The renovation plan for the Old Port involves an investment of 120 million euros, both from public and private capital.
2023-08-29 14:00:20
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