After nine years closed, the characteristic Imax building in Port Vell has reopened its doors. It has not done so as a cinema, but as the world's first America's Cup dissemination center, a maritime competition that will be held in the city for the first time next summer. However, its immense oval screen, where many will remember having watched movies a long time ago, will be put to good use.
The America's Cup Experience will serve to explain the intricacies of this regatta, the oldest sporting event in the world and one of those with the greatest economic and media impact, only behind the Olympic Games and football World Cups. The space opened a few days ago and can be visited until May 2025 ---six months after the end of the competition---, at which point the concession will end and the project for a second Liceu venue on those grounds can be resumed. With a free access area and a paid one, the tour to see everything is about 40 minutes. The schedule will be Monday to Sunday from 10 in the morning to 9 at night, adapting it to demand and the time of year, with the forecast of reducing it in winter.
Behind the America's Cup Experience is the company AC House Barcelona, created by businessmen Josep Gurri, Xavier Andrades and Enrique Ordoñez, and with the support of the Stoneweg fund. After an investment of 7 million euros to update the space and adapt it to its new use, the promoters expect to attract 8 million visitors, of whom between 1 and 1.2 million visitors are believed to buy tickets. For the Barcelona edition, in global terms, it is estimated that the competition will leave 1.2 billion euros in the city and create 19,000 jobs.
The dissemination center welcomes visitors with two foils, marine wings that Barcelonians will get used to in the coming months. It is this element that allows the boats competing in the America's Cup to fly above the water, even if it is hard to imagine. The foils greet visitors accompanied by a replica of the historic trophy that the winners take home.
Once past the entrance, on the left, is the exhibition area open to the public free of charge, the most interesting one. With capacity for 500 visitors, here it is explained how the regatta works and the six participating teams of next year's edition are presented, putting faces to them and seeing the colors each one will wear, pending the arrival of material from the French team, the last to join the regatta.
In the free access area, details are also given about what the boats of the 37th edition of the America's Cup will be like, beyond the foils, and curiosities are told such as why their sails are black and not white, anticipating the surprise some will have when they see the first races. The answer lies in the material they are made of, carbon fiber threads, which, in addition to being dark in color, are one of the materials with the highest load capacity. In this part of the center, there is also the store with official products, with prices ranging from 30 euros for a cap and 35 euros for a short-sleeved t-shirt to 70 euros for a long-sleeved polo shirt.
Once the free part has been seen, the visit can continue. For a price of 15 euros, you can access different spaces to learn more details about the competition. There are reduced tickets, for 12 euros, for over 65s and students, and a family pack of 48 euros, with four passes.
First, there is an immersive experience that dives into the sea to tell the evolution that the boats have followed. Then, a room presented as a time tunnel follows, where various monitors review the history of the competition over 172 years. It is the previous step to sit again in the Imax seats, with space for 435 spectators. In this case, you enter to watch a 9-minute short documentary made by Mediapro, which aims to transmit the epic behind each day of competition.
A room with various monitors reviews the history of the competition over 172 years, a previous step to sit again in the Imax seatsFrom October, the America's Cup exhibition center will feature two simulators of the boats that the teams will use in the competition. With capacity for 10 people each, they will emulate the sensations experienced by regatta sailors, based on movement, but also virtual reality and air and water systems.To access this new space, another ticket will have to be purchased, with a price of 8 euros. There will be the option of a joint ticket for 20 euros. In addition to the simulators, new areas are expected to be incorporated in the coming months, such as one for children. The possibility of retransmitting the regattas from the screen of the old Imax cinema is also being studied.
Finally, the dissemination center will have two restaurants. One will be run by chef Albert Ventura, from Coure Barcelona and Andorra, and will open on September 12. It will be on the upper floor of the building, with a terrace overlooking Port Vell and one of the bases of the participating teams, Ineos Britannia. The second restaurant is already open and is located at sea level.