The Real Club de Polo de Barcelona has recently been the setting for CSIO Barcelona (Official International Show Jumping Competition of Barcelona), which held its first edition in 1902, and which for nine years has hosted the most important equestrian event in the world, the Longines FEI Jumping Nations Cup Final, which depends on the International Equestrian Federation.
Just after this competition ended, the club has begun work on an ambitious remodeling project for a part of the facilities of the Olympic show jumping arena where this championship takes place; the main grandstand.
The improvements, which will expand the capacity of the stands to about 830 people ---"one third more"--- and will favor a view of the track from more angles and with a better perspective, will contribute to revalidating the trust that the federation has been placing in the private entity to organize the jumping final, "which has many suitors: New York, Dubai, Moscow...", assures the president of the Polo, Curro Espinós.
Likewise, "we will continue to be the best track for all local and national equestrian competitions and shows that have been held at the club for years; almost every weekend there is one," he adds.
The project "is very Polo" because the objective was "to maintain the soul of the colonial grandstand" so as not to lose the essence. That is why the design has been inspired by the old facilities that the club had in Can Ràbia, until 1930, when it moved to its current location. "The new one will have a certain tradition and will breathe history because, in addition to using it for equestrian competitions, it is one of the most characteristic visual elements of the club."
"Now the challenge is to finish the works in just twelve months to once again host the final, the participating riders and horses, and the representatives of the media of an event that, after Formula 1, is the championship with the greatest media coverage, and the most important in equestrian sports after the Olympic Games," adds the president. He reminds that the contract with the federation is renewed every two years, and "next year it will be time to address it again."
Espinós is optimistic, despite admitting that it is an ambitious project to demolish the current track grandstand and the adjacent building that houses a gym. The budget for the execution of the works amounts to nearly 13 million euros, eight million of which will be self-financed and the remaining five correspond to a five-year loan. "This will allow us to have our own resources to cover the annual cost of maintaining the rest of the facilities, which is approximately one million euros," he says.
The Polo Club's annual budgets amount to 26 million euros, half of which comes from the payment of fees from the 11,000 current members ---3,000 are under 18 years old---, and the other half from what subscribers pay to enjoy complementary services or from the income obtained from sports training activities for young people and children in the club's five disciplines ---equestrian, polo, hockey, tennis, and padel, the last one incorporated in the 90s---.
The new facility "will place the club at the level of excellence and modernity that all members want and will further increase, if possible, the sense of belonging to the club, especially among the youngest, and will also respond to the boom that fitness has had in recent years and that has made it a transversal section, with a daily influx of about 500 people, and practically a thousand subscribed to gym activities," who can now enjoy an alternative space that has been conditioned as a gym to continue offering the service.
The new building, on an area of 9,000 m², in addition to incorporating the equestrian grandstand, will have the gym and sports activity rooms, two indoor pools ---one 25 meters and one 16 meters---, and a convention hall. All spaces will have exterior views and a modern design that respects new environmental certifications ---for water treatment and renewable energy sources---.
"It is a project that reaffirms the essence of the club and the spirit of belonging of its 11,000 members"The project has been designed by Batlle i Roig, in collaboration with Casacuberta Matías, Capella Monaco, PGI Engineering and ACTIO. From the point of view of the works, a tender was held where eleven companies submitted bids and six were selected. Finally, it will be developed by the UTE formed by Voracys and Alainsa.
"It will be on par with other offerings, with high quality, to withstand a lot of user rotation. It made no sense for club members to have to pay for a gym elsewhere in the city. They are a small part of the complex, but very important sportingly and socially," he assures.
In addition, "it allows us to change the club's concierge service, which will move to street level, and the adaptation of the events room, which will not only be for club events or its members, but also for third parties ---individuals or companies--- and will promote the club's opening to the city."
This last aspect, "which has always been this way and which Barcelonans do not always know," explains the president of the Polo, insisting that "the sporting importance of our sections with teams very well positioned in their respective competitions means that, for example, on weekends this [he points to the entire enclosure] is overflowing with practitioners, fans, entire families watching local, Catalan, national matches or championships; whatever it may be." There are 2,000 children and young people linked to sports through the schools that the Polo Club has, and various activities from juniors to seniors, with an amateur character or for competition. "The tennis school is the largest in Spain, with a thousand registered," he says.
"We are part of Barcelona and we are open to all its citizens, always have been and always will be"With all these cards in hand, Curro Espinós dismisses the idea that the Polo Club should be seen as an elitist entity; "we are just another part of the city," which is why three of its main sporting events take place in its facilities: the CSIO, the international Polo tournament, and the international Hockey de Reyes championship, which has been held for more than 70 years.
The Barcelona City Council, defends the president of the entity, supports us "as it does with other entities or championships that take place in the city." "They know the importance of what we do in sports training, the competitive level of our teams ---we have two hockey teams in the first division--- and the international echo of the show jumping competition, and that is why we designed a 'Barcelona' prize for the CSIO that contributes to retaining the final of the international championship in the city," he states in response to criticism for receiving 200,000 municipal euros for this year's edition. "We could also talk about what other competitions from private entities receive...", he concludes.