Alex Trelinski
BENIDORM has secured €6.4 million of EU funding for its long-awaited redevelopment of the old bullring.
Plans were first announced nearly five years ago for its conversion into the Benidorm Open Arena- a multi-purpose events centre.
The project is budgeted at €10.7 million, marginally up on projections in 2022.
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The remaining 40% of costs will be stumped up by Benidorm City Council.
The bullring has been out of use for many years with structural problems needing to be dealt with.
The council had previously been ear-marked EU grants for the project but decided not to go ahead in late 2023.
Critics at the time said the authority dithered too long and missed out on the chance to grab money from Brussels.
The new timetable aims to have the new-look venue completed by the end of 2029.
Benidorm mayor, Toni Perez, said: “The focal point will be ‘Arena Live’, which includes renovating the bullring and converting it to a large multifunctional space for cultural, social and sports activities.”
There will also be ‘Arena Joven’- a youth centre- and ‘Arena Encuentro’ which seeks to improve public spaces and green zones around the Plaza de Toros.
Perez emphasised that getting European money was not straight-forward.
“There was a lot of effort and great work behind it but we have to analyse details of the subsidy because it was less than what we requested,” he stated.
“The European Commission is very demanding with its money and so this is an endorsement of the kind of projects that Benidorm puts forward.”
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