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Málaga deserves to host the Mundobasket. Sevilla.

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Mundobasket 2014

When announced the venues for the Mundobasket organized by Spain in 2014, I welcomed with joy that Sevilla was one of the venues for the simple fact of being in Seville and a lover of basketball, but more was my surprise to see Málaga was outside the map of the championship.

One of the main factors for the Andalusian capital would host was the construction of a new basketball pavilion with a capacity for 15000 people. A city where basketball is interesting only to a few, where Cajasol just get the attention of local media and ordinary citizens, where basketball only interesting to a few, where there are no more elite teams that can use the facility ... Why would a pavilion with a capacity for 15000 spectators? "For a championship that barely last a week and possibly the entry is not even safe to bring 10,000 spectators to the English or American?

José Luís Saenz, president of the FEB, speaks of a "multi-purpose venue" which combine several activities "entertainment, sport and business." After the fiasco of the Olympic Stadium de la Cartuja, which ended up being an office building where few times a year we celebrate an event and an investment at all has obtained the desired return, do not think that Sevilla is currently in the most conducive to making an investment of this magnitude (80 to 90 million euros) and even less return for it and keep him busy all year round activities.

Currently the city has the Exhibition and Congress FIBES, which this year has been occupied only 19 of 52 weeks activity, the Auditorio de la Cartuja only full concert at some point and the aforementioned Estadio de la Cartuja, where in 2010 only 3 days has been busy with small-caliber sports or 5 days with concerts . When we are at full capacity the rest of facilities for events, it's time to invest for further growth, and meanwhile, I consider it a waste.

Do we want to make a flag to be used for less than a week in the Mundobasket, then 4 or 5 conference held or concerts a year and a weekly look at Cajasol soulless with little more than a third input? Do we want a flag of "sports" to be managed by the Municipal Sports Disney (IMD) and prioritize activities and Disney Cajasol have to migrate to Two Sisters to play at a velodrome as occurred last year ?

Martín Carpena / Photo: Euroleague.net

City Council (and opposition) has since May 2009 idly, without lifting a finger for construction of the new campus and local media echo only when the President of the Federation speaks of the matter in recent days to an "ultimatum"

Focusing on the theme basketball, as in other aspects to consider in these times as communications, hotel rooms and d and "struggle" between Malaga and Seville to host the 2014 championship, I think the decision should have been clear for some years of data in hand:

• Málaga now has a pavilion with seating for 11,000 spectators, newly renovated, which will be extended to 13000 and does not require additional investments for 2014.
• Unicaja exceeds 10,000 subscribers this season, the Cajasol struggled to reach in summer 3000.
• Unicaja is a regular club in continental competition, licensed A (square "fixed") in Euroleague and his court one of the outposts of Europe. Cajasol returns this year to a European competition organized by ULEB, after more than a decade of drought. Fighting to get back where he was in the 90's.
• In Malaga basketball fans are numerous, passionate and his court one of the hottest Spain. In Seville the crowd is sparse, very faithful and very few exceptions, very cold.

What is talking basketball Sevilla Malaga has not?

Now that local authorities Malaga seems to have taken the step to provide the economic canon necessary to host, there is no reason to reject it. Even at the expense of "my" Sevilla ...