Ginés Muñoz |
Barcelona, (EFE).- The Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell-Trofeo Conde de Godó celebrates its 70th edition, recovering pre-pandemic income and starting a new era, which should be led by the Spanish Carlos Alcaraz in the sports field.
Despite the loss of twelve-time champion Rafael Nadal, the undisputed star of the tournament for the last fifteen years, the Barcelona Open is in excellent health, both economically and sportingly, which maintains it as one of the best ATP 500 on the circuit and a reference event for Catalan civil society.
It seems that ‘Carlitosmanía’ has come to stay at the RCT Barcelona-1899, one of those hundred-year-old clubs where you can breathe a special atmosphere, the kind that only places with a lot of history exude. And it is that legends such as Roy Emerson, Manuel Santana, Manuel Orantes, Ilie Nastase, Bjorn Borg, Ivan Lendl, Mats Wilander or Rafa Nadal himself have won here.
With Alcaraz he hopes to exceed 13 million income
With Alcaraz as the new banner, the organization of the Barcelona Open hopes to exceed 13 million in income in 2023, that record figure it achieved in 2019, before the pandemic canceled the tournament the following year and forced the 2021 tournament to be played in the middle of gas.
“We are very excited because it is going to be the Godó with the highest income in history: we are 45% above the income of the previous year at this time, and only in ticketing we have increased billing by 60%”, advanced the counselor tournament delegate, Xavier Pujol, on the day of the presentation of the event.
In order to exceed the pre-pandemic billing, the organization is carrying out an investment plan of five million euros, which will culminate in 2025 and of which around 80% has already been executed, according to Expansión.
Of this investment, three million euros correspond to infrastructure and environment, and the rest to sustainability and digitization, where the hand of Tennium is already beginning to be noticed, which took over from IMG in organizing the tournament in 2021 and which has recently been awarded the organization of the final phase of the Davis Cup.
In terms of sustainability, Godó has been expanding its ‘Play for the Planet’ program, which includes, among other things, that the tournament has a waste management center, LED lights on all courts , the recycling of cups, strings and balls used in training and matches, volunteer brigades to raise public awareness or the commitment to sustainable transport.
First 100% sustainable ATP 500
In addition, in 2024 it will become the first ATP 500 one hundred percent sustainable in terms of watering tracks and gardens, thanks to a project to reuse shower water and the use of rainwater.
To undertake the work, which will last five months and will be 30% financed by the Next Generation funds of the European Union, the RCT Barcelona-1899 counts as partners with Aguas de Barcelona (AGBAR); the German multinational ACO, world leader in drainage technology; and CENPAS, an engineering company specialized in energy efficiency projects.
Banco Sabadell main sponsor
With Banc Sabadell for another year as main sponsor, the tournament also has the support of the institutions -Barcelona City Council and Generalitat de Catalunya- as well as Grupo Godó, Orange, Emirates, Cupra, Cepsa, Rolex, Dunlop, Isdin and Font Vella . And this year Cava Vilarnau, Mango and Occident, among others, have been added to the list of sponsors.
This economic support allows the Barcelona Open to be the third ATP 500 that distributes the most money in prizes (2,722,480 euros), only surpassed by the tournaments in Beijing and Dubai.
A sports and social event that has been awarded several times by the ATP for the treatment given to the players, the quality of its facilities or its press service. And that it continues to enjoy excellent health and continues to evolve each year despite its space limitations: that of a century-old club that can no longer grow, but whose Open 500 format is as attractive as it is profitable.