The Girona City Council and Bàsquet Girona are finalizing the concession of the Fontajau pavilion for fifty years, an operation that the municipal government plans to bring to the plenary session before the summer holidays, possibly next month or in July. The club would thus assume the management of the entire facility starting next season.
The proposal goes beyond the ordinary sports use of a 33-year-old municipal facility. The plan involves turning Fontajau into a venue with activity almost every weekend, with ACB basketball, the women's team, concerts, fairs, and congresses, to sustain Bàsquet Girona's economy with new revenue streams.
The plenary session plans to vote on a 50-year concession before summer
Last week, Marc Gasol, the mayor Lluc Salellas, and the deputy mayor Quim Ayats presented the project to the Sports Councilor, Berni Álvarez. The file and the terms of reference already have the approval of the municipal legal services.
If the concession receives the green light in the coming weeks, Bàsquet Girona will begin managing the venue next season. The planned term is fifty years, the same as Girona FC has for the Montilivi stadium.
In fact, the club has already moved its offices to the upper floor of the pavilion. It has also established the company Fontajau Arena sl to handle the management of events hosted by the facility.
Marc Gasol proposes a Fontajau for 6,000 spectators and up to 7,000 for concerts
Marc Gasol summarized the scope of the reform with a direct statement about the future of the venue.
"We will make a new Fontajau" - Marc Gasol, president of Bàsquet Girona
The project foresees a capacity of about 6,000 spectators for matches and a capacity of up to 7,000 people for concerts and other events. The renovation also incorporates new VIP areas, a restaurant in the hall overlooking the Ribes del Ter, and a bar.
Gasol placed the investment at a figure in the millions, without specifying the final amount for now. The club's intention is to operate the pavilion all year round and not limit it to the sports calendar.
This model will require accommodating other already consolidated uses in the Fontajau area, including the influx of the Sea Otter, the fair that brings together more than 70,000 people every September. The club and organizers will have to negotiate their coexistence in the pavilion's surroundings.
Furthermore, in the coming weeks the City Council and Bàsquet Girona will define the relocation of Girona Judo, Fontajau and Tennis Taula Girona. The new concession will hand over the management of the entire facility to the club, a change that requires reordering the daily use of the equipment.
The operation is now pending political and administrative processing so that Fontajau can start next season under the management of Bàsquet Girona with a fifty-year concession.