The L'Hospitalet City Council has initiated the urban planning process to construct the new Santa Eulàlia sports center in parc de l'Alhambra, an action that the local government links to a broader reorganization of District III. The project foresees changes in land use in the affected area and the tendering of an ideas competition to define the architectural and urban design.
The main friction of the plan lies in the fact that the facility will be built in a park, while the council maintains that the final balance will not reduce green space in the neighborhood, but rather expand it. José Antonio Alcaide, deputy mayor and government councilor for Urban Agenda 2030/2050, argues that the operation will allow for the gain of 9,000 square meters of green space in the district as a whole.
The municipal government estimates a green space gain of 9,000 square meters for the district
Of this additional area, approximately 5,500 square meters correspond to the Gasòmetre site, and the rest will come from the urban green corridor that will connect parc de l'Alhambra, plaça de Francesc Macià, and the areas around l'Alhambra and l'Aprestadora streets, with pedestrianized sections.
Alcaide maintains that this layout will form a green continuum that will integrate the educational and socio-health facilities in the area. The deputy mayor frames the reform within a far-reaching urban transformation for District III.
"We need 13,000 square meters of facilities, and building them on the Gasòmetre site would mean constructing seven floors, with the impact that would have on the homes bordering it. Nor could a part be built underground due to the water table in the area, whereas in parc de l'Alhambra this solution is possible" - José Antonio Alcaide, deputy mayor and government councilor for Urban Agenda 2030/2050, L'Hospitalet City Council
The feasibility study being handled by the City Council specifically rules out the Gasòmetre and Cotxeres de Rosanbús sites. The municipal government argues that parc de l'Alhambra is the only viable option due to accessibility, proximity to the metro and railways, urban impact, and economic sustainability.
Neighborhood entities hold opposing views on parc de l'Alhambra
The project and that feasibility study will be presented to the entities and associations in the Santa Eulàlia i Granvia Sud District Council. A neighborhood division that is already explicit will emerge there.
AESE and AV Granvia Sud support the location chosen by the City Council. On the other hand, AV Som Santa Eulàlia rejects the construction of the sports center in parc de l'Alhambra and does not rule out mobilizations.
While that discussion progresses, the consistory has already initiated the planning to change the uses of the affected surface. Furthermore, it is preparing the ideas competition that will define the details of the future facility and the reorganization of its surroundings.
Alcaide has defended that we will not lose green space but rather gain it in the district as a whole with the operation. He also added that the municipal government takes for granted that it will seek support in the Plenary to approve the proposal.
The deputy mayor has also set the magnitude of the future facility at 13,000 square meters of facilities and has linked that figure to the discarding of the Gasòmetre, where, as he explained, a seven-story building would have to be erected.