Rafa Nadal's Malaga tennis club gains momentum after three-year wait

Three years after Marbella-based developer Sierra Blanca announced its intention to establish a Rafa Nadal-branded tennis club in Malaga, the project is finally getting under way, following several modifications to the initial plans.

Initially, the plan was to locate it on the surface car park next to the Martín Carpena sports centre. The developers, however, later set their eyes on the facilities of the Inacua racquet sports centre.

Since then, Sierra Blanca and the Nadal brand's objective has been to acquire the land that the city council owns through a public competition to develop the project. They overcame the main obstacle last summer.

Serveo (formerly Ferrovial's services company), which still had nine years of concession left to manage the tennis and padel centre, resigned its role as manager and returned the facilities to the city council after the centre's closure.

Serveo's resignation was the result of an agreement between the former manager and Sierra Blanca for the latter to compensate the former for the loss of operation in the remaining nine years of concession.

The second crucial step to making Nadal's tennis club a reality remains: launching a new competition for the concession of the space, plus an adjacent plot that would allow for the construction of a residence for athletes.

The project includes land expansion with a plot between Avenida Alicia de Larrocha and Avenida Imperio Argentina, which significantly increases its initial area of approximately 22,500 square metres. This additional plot of over 11,000 square metres also belongs to the city council.

In recent months, the municipal urban planning department has been discussing the terms of the tender with Sierra Blanca and Nadal representatives.

A key issue for the private sector is the fee the city council will charge for the transfer of the two plots of land, located in an area that has seen significant appreciation in value in recent years, with the Alfonso X El Sabio university campus already operational and several high-end housing developments near La Térmica.

According to sources, the urban planning heritage department has been reviewing the value of this transfer in recent months. Last week, the city council, Sierra Blanca and the Nadal brand representatives held a meeting and moved closer to an agreement regarding the terms of the competition.

Everything seems to be on track for the competition tender to be launched soon, paving the way for the project to proceed as planned, while always adhering to legal procedures.

The expansion of the initially planned concession area represents a significant change from the original plans and calculations. However, it adds considerable value to the operation.

The construction of a residence for athletes would attract people from other parts of Spain or abroad to enjoy the facilities of the Malaga centre for a few days. As the Nadal brand did with the academy in the former tennis legend's hometown, the accommodation will specifically adapt to the needs of athletes.

The club now fully relies on the outcome of the tender for the concession of the municipal land. This is an open process that will allow not only the proposal from the Marbella-based developer to participate, but also those from other private entities wishing to compete for a similar project in this area of the western coast.