Carlos Barroca, candidate for president of the Portuguese Basketball Federation (FPB), presentedThis Thursday, the project to create a “Basketball City” in Montijo was announced, an infrastructure that intends to assert itself as a new national hub for the sport and whose completion aims for 2030, if the elections scheduled for April 25th are won.
The proposal was presented in the Noble Hall of the Montijo City Council, with the support of the municipality’s president, Fernando Caria, and foresees the construction of a sports complex with a main pavilion with around three thousand seats, three side fields for training and internships, semi-covered outdoor fields — including for the 3×3 aspect —, a training center with capacity for 180 beds, an auditorium with 500 seats and several multipurpose spaces. According to the application, the equipment must integrate technologies similar to those used in the main international leagues, notably the NBA.
According to Carlos Barroca, this is a project that has long been desired by the sports community in Portugal. “This is a project desired by the basketball community in Portugal for many years, which we will be able to build with private financing, but which we would not be able to carry out without the support of Montijo City Council”, he stated.
The future infrastructure is presented as a center for national use, aimed at national teams, clubs and competitive preparation stages. “This will also be the home of the national teams, whether men’s, women’s, youth, 3×3, wheelchair users or ANDDI, and a space open to teams from all over the country for preparation and training”, added the candidate.
The president of Montijo City Council highlighted the municipality’s interest in making the project viable. “As soon as we saw the project, we realized that it was a unique opportunity for our municipality. We are working with the technical teams to find the best way to carry it out and speed up what is possible on the city hall’s side”, said Fernando Caria.
According to the application, works should begin by 2028, with completion scheduled for the end of the next federative term, in 2030. The investment must be ensured mainly by private capital, with the use of European financing also being considered, although the final cost of the infrastructure has not yet been disclosed.
The project is by Portuguese architect Paulo Bernardo, responsible for several international sports infrastructuresincluding the Santos Arena, in Brazil, the América de Natal Training Center and the Angolan Basketball Federation Academy, as well as the Pavilhão Interclube, in Luanda.
Despite already being designated as “Basketball City”, the infrastructure still does not have an official name. The choice must result from a participatory process involving the local community and agents of the sport, in a strategy that the candidacy considers essential to promote the involvement of the territory from the initial phase of the project.
The implementation of the infrastructure depends on the election of Carlos Barroca as president of the FPB and the development of the necessary financing and licensing processes. The elections for the presidency of the Portuguese Basketball Federation take place on April 25th. In addition to Barroca, the current secretary general of the FPB, João Carvalho, is also running for the position.
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