El Plantío Golf Resort has published details of it’s bid to join the exclusive band of courses that can attract international sports clubs as it intensifies its commitment to sports in order to maintain profitable occupancy rates throughout the year.

Thus, apart from the facilities offered by it’s 18-hole golf course, the Ferry family, is now developing  a project in an area attached to the hotel with the purpose of attracting pre-season and mid-winter training visits by Nordic or British teams.

The proposal includes the construction of four football pitches on an area of ​​44,000 square metres. Two of them will be full sized grass pitches while the remaining two will be small sided with an artificial surface.

All four will be made available to the municipalities of Alicante and Elche, in the event that they could be used by local sports clubs or municipal schools during the periods that they are not required by international teams.

The project also includes the construction of four paddle tennis courts and six tennis courts, which The complex manager, Manuel Ferry, said, “We need to take advantage of the opportunities that we have, an unbeatable climate and first class accommodation with all the comforts and services, to attract sports teams that can bring more than 60 people with them for a minimum stay of 20 days”.

Virtual recreation of the sports complex designed by El Plantío Golf Resort
Virtual recreation of the sports complex designed by El Plantío Golf Resort

The idea is to develop an unexplored opportunity in the province, “apart from the sports facilities that are in operation in La Nucía”, added Ferry. “There are some similar complexes in areas such as the Pinatar Arena, in San Pedro del Pinatar (Murcia), or the Marbella Centre, but there is nothing similar in Alicante, despite the fact that the entire sector agrees on the need to seasonally diversify and take advantage of sport as a resource to achieve it, “he said.

The proposal comes at a time when the events sector – another of the resort’s strengths – has been affected by the restrictions currently in place as a result of the coronavirus protocols. Hence, it will provide another way of attracting visitors.

In principle, the intention of El Plantío is to start the works in the first quarter of 2021, as soon as the planning process is completed. For now, the land already belongs to the company that owns the resort and has planning permission that will allow construction but not including any residential development.

The construction of the sports complex represents the second major investment of El Plantío since June 2019, when the Ferry family completed the purchase of the Alicante Golf facilities, in Playa de San Juan, from the hands of Sabadell.