Plaza de toros de las Arenas was a bullring in

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a '' nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the nort ...

, Spain. Over the years it featured numerous musical artists, including Carlos Santana and

Paco de Lucia Paco is a Spanish nickname for Francisco. According to folk etymology, the nickname has its origins in Saint Francis of Assisi, who was the father of the Franciscan order; his name was written in Latin by the order as ''Pater Communitatis'' (fat ...

in 1977. It opened on June 29, 1900, and its last bullfight was held on June 19, 1977. The building was reopened in 2011 as a shopping mall named Arenas de Barcelona.

History

The plaza de Las Arenas opened in 1900. It was mainly used for boxing or free fights. In 1927, when it became the property of rich entrepreneur Pedro Balañá, the Arenas were remodeled into a bullfight arena. During the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

, the building was occupied by anti-fascist militias. Bullfights went on during the Franco era. In the 1960s, a North-American and European tourism grew around bullfights in Spain. The last fight took place in 1977. Bob Marley and The Wailers performed on 30 June 1980 in support of their Uprising Tour (European Leg) In 1989, the first anti-bullfight campaign was led in Catalonia. In 2004, support grew in Barcelona against bullfighting and by 2010, bullfights were voted illegal; however, this law was overturned in 2016.

2011 remodeling

The remodeling work started in November 2009. The developer, Metrovacesa, invested 70 million euros in the project. The architects were Alonso y Balaguer and Richard Rogers. The construction work was handled by

Dragados ACS, Actividades de Construcción y Servicios, S.A. () is a Spanish company dedicated to civil and engineering construction, all types services and telecommunications. It is one of the leading construction companies in the world, with projects i ...

. A public walkway was installed on the last floor all around the building, allowing a 360 degrees view of the city (the ''mirador''). The Arenas opened as a new mall in March 2011.

Description

The commercial area is 31.918 m2 and counts 100 stores on 6 floors. In 2015, the mall recorded 10.500.000 visitors. The dome of the building is 27 metres high.

References

External links

Official website
Bullrings in Spain Shopping malls in Spain Buildings and structures in Barcelona {{bullfighting-stub