The Pontevedra Municipal Sports Hall ''(Pabellón Municipal de los Deportes)'' is an

arena An arena is a large enclosed platform, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectators ...

Pontevedra Pontevedra (, ) is a Spanish city in the north-west of the Iberian Peninsula. It is the capital of both the ''Comarca'' (County) and Province of Pontevedra, and of the Rías Baixas in Galicia. It is also the capital of its own municipality whi ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. It is primarily used for

team handball Handball (also known as team handball, European handball or Olympic handball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outcourt players and a goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands with the aim of throwing it into the g ...

and is the home arena of

SD Teucro Sociedad Deportiva Teucro is a handball team based in Pontevedra, Galicia, in Spain. SD Teucro currently plays (2015–16 season) in Liga ASOBAL. Season by season ---- *15 seasons in Liga ASOBAL Current squad Notable players * David Davis ...

. The arena holds 4,000 people. It is located in the neighbourhood of O Burgo.

History

The Sports Hall was designed by Alejandro de la Sota in

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarch ...

. Construction work began in

1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The Prime Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lyndo ...

. It was inaugurated on 13 July

1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – "Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * Januar ...

Juan Antonio Samaranch Juan Antonio Samaranch y Torelló, 1st Marquess of Samaranch (Catalan: ''Joan Antoni Samaranch i Torelló'', ; 17 July 1920 – 21 April 2010) was a Spanish sports administrator under the Franco regime (1973–1977) who served as the seventh Pre ...

, National Delegate for Physical Education and Sports. A month later, during the celebrations of the Pilgrim Virgin, a concert was organised by

Los Bravos Los Bravos were a Spanish beat group, formed in 1965 and based in Madrid. They are most well known for their debut single "Black Is Black" which reached No. 2 in the United Kingdom in July 1966 and No. 4 in the United States (the first Spanish ...

, Los Silver Stones, Los Dobles and Karina with Los Pekes. The Sports Hall became operational in 1969. The first major competition to be held was the Latin Handball Cup in March 1969. Since its inauguration, the Sports Hall has hosted concerts and different shows and important sporting events such as the Junior Handball World Championship in 1987 or the Handball King's Cup in 2005. In 2022, an improvement project financed by the Higher Sports Council was presented with the replacement of the playing field, the paving of the building's perimeter, the rectification of the access ramps, as well as the renovation of the external railing and the electronic multi-sport score and time displays. In addition, solar panels will be installed on the roof to generate energy for self-supply. The Sports Hall will also recover the original design by Alejandro de la Sota, replacing the roof added in 1986 with another similar to the one designed by the architect.

Description

It is an outstanding example of contemporary Spanish architecture. De la Sota designed the interior of the building as a light-flooded box, with an elegant and delicate structure, which creates a weightless effect of the spatial mesh of the roof. The roof is supported by

corbels In architecture, a corbel is a structural piece of stone, wood or metal jutting from a wall to carry a superincumbent weight, a type of bracket. A corbel is a solid piece of material in the wall, whereas a console is a piece applied to the st ...

, balanced like a scale. It has a flat and translucent surface, like a skylight. In 2016, the

City Council of Pontevedra The City Council of Pontevedra (Galician language, Galician: ''Concello de Pontevedra''; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Ayuntamiento de Pontevedra'') is the top-tier administrative and governing body of the municipality of Pontevedra, Spain. The cur ...

commissioned the renovation of the Sports Hall's roof in order to restore the original appearance of the exterior, which had been modified in 1986. The whole effect was covered with thin panels, which formed the outer volume of the building. The façade is made of large prefabricated

reinforced concrete Reinforced concrete (RC), also called reinforced cement concrete (RCC) and ferroconcrete, is a composite material in which concrete's relatively low tensile strength and ductility are compensated for by the inclusion of reinforcement having hig ...

panels assembled on site with minimal thickness. The building shows great subtlety in the design of the

timber roof truss A timber roof truss is a structural framework of timbers designed to bridge the space above a room and to provide support for a roof. Trusses usually occur at regular intervals, linked by longitudinal timbers such as purlins. The space between each ...

and small construction elements such as railings,

handrails A handrail is a rail that is designed to be grasped by the hand so as to provide safety or support. In Britain, handrails are referred to as banisters. Handrails are usually used to provide support for body or to hold clothings in a bathroom or ...

and

parapets A parapet is a barrier that is an extension of the wall at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony, walkway or other structure. The word comes ultimately from the Italian ''parapetto'' (''parare'' 'to cover/defend' and ''petto'' 'chest/breast'). Wher ...

. The building has a reinforced concrete structure and four lateral towers with stairs to access the upper part. The prefabricated concrete façade has a characteristic small pebble finish.

Gallery

File:Pavillón Pontevedra.jpg, Façade File:Spain v Finland - Futsal International Friendly Match - 7.jpg, New translucent cover as in 1968 File:Spain v Finland - Futsal International Friendly Match - 5.jpg, Interior of the Sports Hall in 2018 File:Spain v Finland - Futsal International Friendly Match - 10.jpg, Futsal match in 2018 File:Spain v Finland - Futsal International Friendly Match - 8.jpg, Goal

References

Bibliography

* * (2015): ''Filgueira Valverde. Crónica de una alcaldía (1959-1968)'', Concello de Pontevedra, D.L.: PO 314-2015 (es) * VV.AA.: Arquitectura Moderna en Asturias, Galicia, Castilla y León. Ortodoxia, Márgenes y Transgresiones (1998), C.García Braña y F. Agrasar Quiroga Ed.

History

Description

Gallery

References

Bibliography

See also

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External links