Torrevieja’s draft 2020 budget shows an investment of 5.3 million euros for the overhaul of the Sports Palace and the construction of a new 25-meter indoor pool adjacent to the facility.
Mayor Eduardo Dolón has said that 3.3 million euros will be allocated for the refurbishment of the main building, even though it is less than two decades old, but is has a number of major maintenance problems, constant leaks, inadequate changing rooms, that need urgent attention.
He says that he wants the work to get underway this year because the centre is due to host a phase of the handball world championship in 2021, prior to which the replacement of all electrical, heating and air conditioning, plumbing, sanitation and natural gas installations, need to be completed.
Improvements will also be carried out to the current Olympic heated pool -a facility that has caused problems practically since it was first opened, although it is also one of the most popular facilities which is also in great demand from users in other areas of the region. The sides of the pool and walkways need attention as does the safety railing of the stands.
Much of the necessary work has already been highlighted with some projects commissioned by the previous government that first identified many of the deficiencies of the building including the constant problem of leaks in the indoor Olympic pool.
The other great investment will be the construction of a new 25-metre indoor pool that would be located between the Sports Palace and the blue pavilion, on an area of approximately one thousand square metres, but connected to the main Sports Palace and the existing olympic pool.
This will cost two million euros that the municipal accounts made up of an initial disbursement of one hundred thousand euros for this year and 1.9 million in 2021.
The purpose for this installation is quite different from the current pool as it will not necessarily be put to sports use but used for rehabilitation, exercise, recovery, swimming for the elderly as well as courses for children. With this concept, one of the starting design conditions for this new pool will be the water temperature, which will range between 30 and 34 degrees; something that will allow its use by people with disabilities or for learning which the Olympic pool does not allow.
The draft budget amounts to 115 million euros, with a large increase over the previous year of more than twenty million euros. To the 5.3 million euros allocated to the Sports centre is a further 2.7 provided for the redevelopment of the Paseo de la Libertad in Torrevieja.
