Valencia (EFE).- The Roig Arena, the multipurpose venue promoted by businessman Juan Roig in Valencia, opens its doors this week with an investment of 400 million, of which 365 are for the building, and a forecast that more than a million people will attend a concert, corporate event or Valencia Basket game in its first year.

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«We estimate that more than a million people will come here in the first year. That supports the power of València, not only of the Roig Arena, as a sector and as a city,» indicated this Tuesday Víctor Sendra, general director of the Roig Arena, which opens next Saturday with an innovative concert in tribute to Nino Bravo in which about twenty artists will participate. The annual economic impact forecast is 150 million euros and the creation of direct jobs is about five hundred, of which about one hundred are part of the organization and the other four hundred will be incorporated according to each event.

Aspires to be in the elite of the great venues in Europe and worldwide

This has been explained by Sendra, who has highlighted that the Arena exemplifies “Juan Roig’s effort for society” and that it is “a city project”. It is, he indicated, “a venue that aspires to be in the elite of the great venues in Europe and worldwide”. “Now comes the operational part and there is a clear challenge which is to meet expectations and have sustainable management, that is, that income is greater than expenses. Juan Roig and the family have delivered and now it’s our turn,” he has assumed. The venue aims to be sustainable, although the timeframe given is not public. “Sustainability is vital, but for it to arrive, things must be done right,” he has advanced. The venue’s rentals will be the main income, followed by sponsors and catering.

Fully funded by Juan Roig

The project, built on a plot of the Valencia City Council, has, as indicated, “four legs.” On the one hand, the Les Arts public school, whose construction cost eight million euros; a public car park inaugurated a year ago of twenty million; an outdoor park of more than 40,000 m2, whose urbanization has cost seven million, and finally the enclosure itself. From the organization, they point out that the final boost to the infrastructure and including its implementation have raised the investment to 365 million, compared to the last figure of three hundred million offered. “The 400 million has been fully funded by Juan Roig and now I speak on his behalf because he has told me to say that he is very proud of every euro invested,” Sendra highlighted. “It had to be a responsible investment but the luck of having Juan Roig has meant that each of the adjustments, whenever justified, has had a ‘yes’ behind it,” he thanked. “We have made a very powerful investment in technology, also everything related to acoustics, both internal and external. We want the music and basketball to sound good and the soundproofing to the outside, to avoid problems even if they are generated from within,” he explained. The impact of covid, the inflation crises, and the war in Ukraine are among the reasons that explain the budget increase, but there’s more. “We saw that we had to enhance the soundproofing much more, even two concerts can be held at the same time. In the technology part, we realized that we had to surpass much what we had initially planned. Then there are the finishes. The investment has a clear focus, to give the user the maximum priority,” he indicated. “We can say that we have the Arena we want. We don’t want to compare ourselves, we have the venue we want,” he highlighted.

Five thousand construction workers involved, and a remembrance of the Dana

Sendra has thanked the neighbors of the area for “their patience and participation”, with whom they have collaborated and whom they have invited to the different “stress tests” that have been carried out. “We want to be part of the neighborhood,” he highlighted. “There has been a very important part which is communication, we have told them things, we have explained the good and the bad and how we could work on them. We have to take care of them and they of us too. It is a day-to-day relationship, of giving and receiving, the relationship right now is very good and we understand that it should be that way,” he affirmed. Sendra recalled that Valencia Basket is “the seed” of everything and the conquest of the 2017 Endesa League is “the milestone” that launched a project that the City Council declared of “general interest” in 2018. On June 29, 2020, the first stone was laid and after “comings, goings and debates” in November 2022 it was given the definitive name of Roig Arena. “A tribute from Juan to the family,” he indicated. The general director recalled the drama that the dana of last October 29th meant for the province. “We put everything we could put”, he recalled before underlining the collaboration that Valencia Basket had with those affected. “The Roig Arena comes to bring joy, almost a year later it is necessary that we all lift our heads and go together,” he assured. Sendra has thanked the collaboration of “institutions and technicians” for their work. “We have had to jump 27 walls, because this had never been done in Valencia,” he stated. He has also highlighted the work of ERRE Arquitectura, responsible for the project, and the works department of Mercadona, the supermarket chain of Roig. In total, nearly five thousand workers, both in-house and from suppliers, have been involved in the construction of a venue that can accommodate 15,600 spectators in ‘basketball mode’, 18,600 in ‘concert mode’, which can be 20,000 with the stage in the middle of the court. In addition, there is an auditorium for concerts and events for up to 2,000 people.

57 events already with tickets on sale

Sendra explained that there are 57 events with tickets for sale “and more than 80 will be released in the first year”. “That means a sale of 600,000 tickets in the first year”, Sendra pointed out. “That says that music sells in València, 75% of the tickets on sale have been sold. It’s not the ‘Roig Arena factor’ that’s the only thing, there are promoters, the venues in València that have been around for years; the Roig Arena is not the cause of everything, we’re here to add,” he added. In the same vein, he indicated that the venue will favor the arrival of major tours to Spain. “We have sought to collaborate, not compete,” he indicated. Sendra has thanked the support of the sponsors, many of whom bet on the Roig Arena when it was just a project; and that of the promoters, “who are the ones who take risks” to bring the artists. For the first course, seventy corporate events have already been contracted «it’s not just music and sport, the company part is going to have a very important weight», he indicated. The infrastructure restoration opened this Monday, with three restaurants (Poble Nou and Ultramarinos Roig by Miguel Martí, who is also in charge of the central kitchen, and El Mercat which includes seven other locations). “It’s a key factor, we have focused on it from a very Valencian perspective,” Sendra highlighted. And he has thanked “the entire management team” of the Roig Arena and their families “for enduring the effort.” “All this without Juan Roig and the whole family would be impossible. The Roig Arena starts today and with a great reception from the public,” he pointed out.