Valencia plays another sailing Copa América in the elections

the future of Valencia as a candidate for a new edition of the Sailing America’s Cup It will be resolved in the elections on May 28. The partisan hindrance poisons the options of the Valencian capital, which has managed to get rid of the debts that the two editions of the competition (2007 and 2010) left in their coffers with a recent forgiveness by the Government. But the governments of the left (the socialist Ximo Puig in the Generalitat and the mayor of Compromís, Joan Ribo) did not want to hear about opting for edition 37 which, with all secrecy, ended up taking Barcelona in March of last year.

If there was one physical thing left from that appointment, it was the port transformation From Valencia. Those were times of pharaonic infrastructures, of not paying attention to expenses or making economic feasibility studies. Millions of euros were disbursed to transform the sector, build, remodel spaces, change uses, something that will not be done in the Catalan capital, but will only accelerate works in the Port of Barcelona that were already planned: the sum already reaches 120 millionbetween public and private.

From 12 teams to 6

The space where the competition was held America Cup of Valencian sailing is today is a busy zone by natives and visitors, at the foot of the Malvarrosa. It is also true that some of the immense buildings that served as the basis for the 12 teams (in Barcelona there will be six, a notable difference) are still in disuse. The posters with the logos of some teams are kept on top of the buildings, as a memory of what happened 16 years ago. Also one of the boats that competed, full of graffiti, which looks like a museum piece.

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There is city life there. “Valencia lived back to the sea and the Copa América made him turn around and look at it”, says one of the referees who was in the competition then, David María. However, the local and regional administrations preferred not to repeat an event that, according to the Valencian Institute of Economic Research (IVIE), reported a return of 2,724 million euros and 73,859 jobs.

The first economic return study in Barcelona he speaks of 1,200 million return and 19,000 jobs, according to the Universitat Pompeu Fabra. The PP candidate for mayor of Valencia, María José Catalá, after making this figure public, has assured that if she wins, she will “fight” to recover it.

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