Rafa Nadal's tennis club in Malaga gains momentum after three years of waiting

Three years after the Marbella-based developer Sierra Blanca announced its intention to establish a tennis club in Malaga under the Rafa Nadal brand, the project is finally approaching its starting point, following several modifications from the initial plans. Initially, it was planned on the surface parking area next to the Martín Carpena Sports Palace. However, that possibility was discarded, and the promoters turned their attention to the facilities of the Inacua racquet center.

Since then, Sierra Blanca and the Nadal family have aimed to win the municipal land through a competitive bid to develop their project. The main obstacle was already overcome last summer. Serveo (the service company formerly owned by Ferrovial), which still had nine years left on its concession to manage the tennis and paddle tennis courts, relinquished the concession and returned the facilities to the Municipality after closing them.

Serveo's relinquishment (after its shares were sold by Ferrovial to the Portobello fund) occurred after reaching a financial agreement with Sierra Blanca to compensate for the loss of operation during the remaining years of the concession.

But there is still the second and crucial part to make the Nadal tennis club possible: the launch of a new concession contest for the space occupied by the racquet center, plus an adjacent plot that would allow the construction of a residence for athletes. Specifically, the land for the new concession is expanded with a plot that significantly increases its initial area, from about 22,500 square meters. This is a plot of over 11,000 square meters, also classified as equipment and equally municipally owned, located just east of the racquet center, between Alicia de Larrocha Avenue and Imperio Argentina Avenue.

In recent months, the Municipal Urban Planning Management has been analyzing with Sierra Blanca and the Nadal family the conditions for this contest. A key issue was discussed to allow private entities to develop the project: the economic fee that the Municipality will charge for the transfer of both plots, located in an area that has experienced significant revaluation in recent years, with the Alfonso X El Sabio University campus already operating, and several high-priced housing projects in the surroundings of La Térmica.

Economic Fee

According to sources consulted by SUR, the amount calculated by the Urban Planning Heritage service for the transfer of this valuable area has been analyzed in recent months to study the economic viability of this prominent sports project. After several discussions, a meeting took place last week where the Municipality, Sierra Blanca, and representatives of the Nadal family came closer to an agreement on the conditions for the contest they will participate in.

Thus, according to reliable sources, everything seems on track for the contest to be called soon, paving the way for the project to develop as planned, while always following the legal channels dictated by the public nature of the lands dedicated to the action.

The expansion of the concessional surface initially planned represents a significant change from the original plans and calculations. However, it adds significant added value to its operation. Building a residence for athletes would attract people from other parts of the country or abroad who want to travel to Malaga for a few days to practice sports in the renovated tennis center, which will completely expand and renew its facilities. As is already the case with Nadal's academy in his hometown of Manacor (Mallorca), here they could have accommodation designed for them.

In any case, the realization of the Nadal tennis club, as planned by Sierra Blanca, depends on how the contest for the concession of the municipal lands where it is intended to be established is resolved. It is an open procedure that not only the proposal of the Marbella-based promoter but also those of other private entities that want to compete to launch a similar operation in this area of the western coast can aspire to.