The First Division pavilion that is left without light when the weather is bad
The Fontajau court, where Bàsquet Girona and Uni Girona play, has been accumulating incidents in the electrical supply for weeks that alter the development of the matches
GironaIn Bàsquet Girona's last home game at the Fontajau pavilion, against Andorra, play was interrupted several times due to repeated power outages. The local team ended up winning the match, but the opponent managed to close the gap during the pauses caused by technical problems, which distracted the Girona players. It was the weekend of March 15th, the one with strong winds in the northeast of Catalonia, but the same situation had already happened before. In January, for example, in the EuroLeague game between Uni Girona and Galatasaray, the initial whistle sounded an hour late due to the same problem. And this March, against Casademont Zaragoza, the court went dark again with one minute left to play, with Uni two points down. The interruption broke the team's positive momentum and the home team ended up losing by three points.
strong winds in the northeast of Catalonia, but the same situation had already happened before. In January, for example, in the EuroLeague game between Uni Girona and Galatasaray, the initial whistle sounded an hour late due to the same problem. And this March, against Casademont Zaragoza, the court went dark again with one minute left to play, with Uni two points down. The interruption broke the team's positive momentum and the home team ended up losing by three points.
All this has ignited the spirits of the Girona fans, who see how in top-level basketball games the local infrastructure is not up to par. The fan groups denounce that the power outages at Fontajau harm the spectacle, break the team's competitive rhythm, cause confusion and frustration among the coaches, and project a bad image of the city to rivals and the television channels broadcasting the games.
"We are in a slump, we have 11 wins and 12 losses, and it's not normal to have to depend on external things; this is not typical of a professional team. You can't compete like this. In the first power outages, Girona cools down a bit and the opponent takes advantage," defends Guillem Recasens, spokesperson for Engaviats, the fan group of Bàsquet Girona. In the game against Andorra, the fans, who made their displeasure known, also unfurled a banner with the message “We want a decent pavilion,” but the police removed it because it was made of paper, considered flammable material. President Marc Gasol personally addressed the stands to explain the situation.
The same feeling is repeated among the usual audience of Uni Girona, which is not only second in the Spanish First Division but also competes in the top European league. “The problem is above all the image you give in Europe. We are the only team with these deficiencies in the pavilion. We have players of a very high level and it is not normal for them to have to experience this. Girona is a city that offers a lot to players, an ideal place to play basketball and live, but when these things happen, it is not good for the team," says Ana Fuentes, from the GirUnins animation group. Furthermore, the animation groups lament that, with the cuts, the games often drag on for a long time and easily exceed two and a half hours, which causes part of the audience to leave before the end.
An electric generator group for the match against Madrid
The Fontajau pavilion, municipally owned, is a facility inaugurated in 1993, during the Valvi Girona era, before the mythical Akasvayu. Fans are not asking for a new pavilion, because it is spacious, with good visibility, and well located, on the other side of the river from Devesa Park. However, since the nineties, the electrical installations have not evolved: the lights are still halogen, they fail from time to time, and when they turn off, it takes them a long time to start up again. The pavilion has been accumulating occasional problems for some time, but in recent weeks, coinciding with various episodes of wind or rain, the situation has worsened. That is why, for this Saturday's nine o'clock match between Bàsquet Girona and Madrid, the City Council, with Endesa's help, has installed three generator sets that will autonomously power the pavilion so as not to depend on the general grid.
In addition to this emergency measure, which will last until the end of the season, the Girona council is in contact with Bàsquet Girona to offer more in-depth medium and long-term solutions. The agreement with the ownership of the men's and women's teams is very close, still pending officialization, but it foresees investments to install an UPS (uninterruptible power supply) system and the possibility of replacing all lighting with LED technology, already present in practically all regional sports halls in the county.
Bàsquet Girona, for its part, has not made a public statement because the improvements are beyond its responsibilities, but it has wanted to convey an institutional message of respect to the fans, has reiterated that the infrastructure needs updating, and has requested institutional commitment from the City Council.
Beyond the power outages, the cheerleading groups also complain about the intense heat in the pavilion from May onwards and that, in winter, on some occasions the boiler has not worked and players have had to shower with cold water. "When a player has to choose a team, they look for the best possible salary, but also good conditions. Many people like to come to Girona, but these things also count and can harm us when it comes to attracting future good players," concludes Guillem Recasens.