Associates confirm 'there will be a Rafa Nadal Academy in Malaga'

The player's father, Sebastián, and director of development, Carlos Costa, have visited alternative sites in the city due to the delays in proceedings for the plot of land they prefer, next to the Martin Carpena arena

Chus Heredia

Monday, 18 December 2023 | Updated 20/12/2023 12:38h.

The Rafa Nadal Academy is now seven years old and has been growing exponentially since its main headquarters was set up in his native Manacor. It now has 500 employees and welcomes more than 100,000 visitors a year to its 80,000 square metre sport and educational facilities. For at least five years, Nadal's family and his team have been trying to build an academy in Malaga, which would be the sixth of its kind. However, urban planning procedures have been slow and have led them to look for alternative sites for the academy to their preferred location, which is a plot of land next to the Martín Carpena arena.

Sources close to the Academy confirmed on Wednesday last week that Nadal's father Sebastián Nadal and former tennis player and director of international development Carlos Costa were visiting the Inacua Racquet Centre. "The aim was to see whether the project could be adapted to the existing space. There is still a decision to be made, but it will be tight. We could be talking about two thirds of the original plot," they explained.

The mentioned sources also confirmed that, despite the bureaucratic mess within the city, the Nadal family is clear that no doubts have arisen: "Rafa Nadal's family have decided: there will be an academy in Malaga".

While municipal sources admit to knowing about their new interest in the Racquet Centre, they said they did not have much information about the specific details to open negotiations. In any case, "we are here to help to get it under way as soon as possible." And this statement applies to both options: to the Racquet Centre or the original plan next to the Martin Carpena.

Ronnie Leitgeb's original idea and agreements with Sierra Blanca Estates

The reason Malaga is recognised at this level of international tennis originates from Austrian promoter Ronnie Leitgeb, who organised an ATP Challenger event in Marbella in 2021 with the support of the Junta de Andalucía and AnyTech365.

This Austrian promoter, who has experience organising tournaments such as the one in Lyon and is backed by big investors such as Red Bull, already wanted to build a large tennis stadium in Malaga a few years ago. It would have included a centre court for 7,000 spectators.

The city's tournament, named the Andalucía Open would start at an ATP 250 level, then upgrade to an ATP 500 after two years (like the Barcelona Conde de Godó Open). At the same time, the Nadal family had also set their sights on the city. Both ideas converged, but Leitgeb passed away in 2022. The director of the Andalucía Open tragically died at the age of 62.

Construction developers Sierra Blanca Estates are partnered up with the Nadal family to take on the Rafa Nadal Academy project in Malaga. The chosen plot of land, next to the Palacio de Deportes José María Martín Carpena, is currently used as a car park. So of course, this means compensating for the lack of it by building a large underground car park of their own.

In January this year, Sierra Blanca filed the document which proposed the building works for the club on the municipal--owned land. The land however is classified as an area of territorial interest since it is reserved as a potential park-and-ride as part of the Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan, given its proximity to the metro station. The car park would have 500 parking spaces, which Sierra Blanca would increase to 1,000.

Rafa Nadal's proposed tennis centre in Malaga would consist of 12 high-quality tennis courts, nine padel courts and a central court with a crowd capacity of 3,000, allowing the venue to host international competitions. In addition, it would have an outdoor swimming pool and a multipurpose facility including a fitness and crossfit area, a sport shop, restaurant, spa and a museum dedicated to Nadal and his career.

Are the plans going to go ahead? "Ideally, yes"

Are the plans going to go ahead? "Ideally, yes," said the already mentioned sources, who appreciate the patience and determination of the Nadal family to bring their project to life.

The Academy has a host of top-tier sponsors, headed by Movistar, and has four more headquarters in other corners of the world. Beyond Mallorca, Malaga would be the fifth centre with the Rafa Nadal Academy brand after those in the United States, Mexico (Costa Mujeres), Greece (Halkidiki) and Kuwait.

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