A group of residents from eight blocks in the Congrés neighbourhood of Sant Andreu has submitted objections to the Barcelona City Council to halt the construction of a public sports centre that, paradoxically, originated from a citizen proposal approved in the participatory budgets.
The Community of Property Owners of Concepción Arenal has taken a formal step to try to stop the project for a municipal sports centre on Can Ros street, between the Canòdrom square and Meridiana avenue. The residents, who number around seventy households, submitted a written objection to the council last June, after agreeing in April to seek legal representation.
The facility, however, was born from a community initiative. The Arrels Futsal Sports Association proposed the pavilion in the Participatory Budgets 2024-2027, with the support of the Congrés-Indians Neighbourhood Association. The proposal received 2,203 votes in favour, becoming the second most voted in the Sant Andreu district and the fifth in the city overall. The City Council allocated €880,000 for the drafting of the preliminary project, which is underway and expected to be completed by April 2027. The final project is anticipated for April 2028, meaning the inauguration would fall to the next term.
Municipal sources defend the project and highlight that "this is a project with broad support among the neighbourhood, which has been requesting a sports centre of this type for over 20 years due to the lack of any municipal sports facilities in the area." The AVV Congrés-Indians, which is part of the monitoring committee, is "completely in favour of the construction" and asserts that it has not received direct contact from the opposing residents.
Lawyer Eulogio Gallego del Águila, from the EUROPEO law firm, represents the opposing residents. His request asks the City Council to abandon the project or, alternatively, to suspend any progress until the necessary studies and guarantees are incorporated. They also demand to be notified of the final decision and the status of the processing of the file.
The objections focus on possible urban, environmental, mobility, and residential quality impacts. The main concern is noise. According to the lawyer, the profile of users would change: while the current tennis and paddle court is used by a varied and mostly senior audience, the sports centre would predominantly attract young people. Additionally, the new building would include parking, which, according to the residents, would generate a flow of vehicles that the neighbourhood could not absorb.
Laia Espinal, a 40-year-old resident who has lived in the neighbourhood all her life, adds that the current tennis facility closes at night, preventing noise, whereas the sports centre, despite having official hours, could cause acoustic disturbances both day and night. She also warns of possible archaeological remains beneath the courts, where there used to be a farmhouse and possibly a Roman villa. The objections request prior archaeological surveys and a specific report on the matter.
The residents' mobilisation is not new. As early as 2014, residents collected over 1,300 signatures against the rezoning of the land, which changed from green space to facilities in April 2015. The land is part of a large parcel of land for public services long requested by the neighbourhood.
The conflict pits two visions of the same neighbourhood against each other: one that demands a long-awaited public sports facility and another that fears for its quality of life. The City Council will need to resolve the objections before continuing with the project, the timeline of which extends to 2028.
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