Mercadona president Juan Roig – Valencia born and bred – aims for a three-pointer with Casal España Arena de Valencia, the city’s new basketball arena. Sources at the company behind the construction, Licampa 1617, spoke exclusively to Eugene Costello. Additional reporting by Daniel Hazelhoff…
The years 2006 and 2019 saw Spain reign as world cup champion in basketball. Basketball is Spain’s second-biggest sport behind football, with die-hard fans showing their support and passion for their teams. Mercadona president Juan Roig joins the crowds as a supporter of the sport. Not only as a fan, though, but through investment and creation as well.
Licampa 1617, a company created by Juan Roig for the exclusive purpose of constructing the Casal España Arena de Valencia, began the works on 29 June 2020. If you’ve been living in Valencia for some time, you might recognise that word, Casal. But what does it mean?
The cultural aspects of Las Fallas come from Casals, where citizens and residents gather to celebrate Las Fallas, hold collective dinners and bask in the cultural ambience of Valencian tradition. Casal España Arena pays tribute to a legacy that holds cultural importance in the Comunidad de Valencia. And it strives to be a symbol of Spain as a whole. In 2016 Unesco recognised Las Fallas as a cultural heritage asset, and did the same with paella recently, so Valencia is flying the flag for Spain.
From basketball to concerts and education
The arena will not be not for the sole purpose of basketball. It will also be a cultural centre and multi-use environment. One evening you might be attending a basketball game, where you watch your favourite team thwart their rival. The next day, you might find yourself in the same arena, watching your favourite band. From basketball to music concerts, and education, too, Licampa 1617 has invested in a new public school. Les Arts finished construction in September 2021.
The idea is to create not just a sports centre, but to enrich the area and Valencia as a whole. The arena will provide more than 300 direct and indirect jobs. And it will build a new school and a car park with an approximate capacity of 1,000 cars. There will even be a public park with green zones.
The scheduled opening date is for 2023, provided no major setbacks occur. Casal España Arena de Valencia will have a maximum capacity of 15,600 people for basketball events, and 18,600 for concerts.
Collaboration between the Ayuntamiento and Roig
The project has seen a personal investment of more than €220m from Juan Roig’s private pocket. These funds aren’t simply for the construction of the arena. They also provide for a new school and car park, as said. And ta new public park and green zones. This is a trend we’ve been seeing recently in the green and sustainable development direction that Valencia is striving to achieve.
Juan Roig, president of supermarket chain Mercadona, Spain’s largest, with its bases in Tavernes Blanques in Valencia, has underwritten and personally guaranteed the build. The project, however, is a private-public collaboration. The Ayuntamiento de Valencia (city council) has ceded the plot of land the arena will stand on to Licampa 1617 for a period of 50 years. This is on condition that Licampa 1617 pays an annual fee of €200,000 a year. Once the concession period ends, the site is to revert to the municipality without any cost to the city.
The project aims to contribute to the reputation of Valencia, and the Valencia Community. That is why it aims to provide the city with a venue of international standing that will boost the entertainment market, insiders at Licampa 1617 told Valencia Life. This project is also seen as part of Juan Roig’s legacy, to share with Valencia and with society.
It’s a worthy tribute to the city that shaped and moulded him, and ultimately helped create his empire.
