Yaiza: the power of sport as an economic engine

March 9 2022 (15:31 WET)

I enthusiastically share with you these reflective lines about the area that I have humbly had to lead in this mandate that is coming to an end, but which in my opinion has caused a great impact in different sectors.

The Sports Area that the mayor, Óscar Noda, whom I thank once again for his opportunity, delegated to me, has undergone a transformation that I understand has been positive, perhaps because of the number of people who have helped me, because of the number of people with projects that we have supported, and it may also have influenced my past as an athlete in disciplines such as judo, Latin sailing, running triathlons such as Ironman Lanzarote, and Canarian wrestling, my favorite sport, and also defending the shirt that I love the most, that of Yaiza.

This transformation and impact is reflected in the number of sports-related works that we have developed in recent years, and proof of this are the renovations of the Yaiza athletics track, the Yaiza tennis, 3x3, and paddle tennis courts, the creation of paddle tennis, tennis, and calisthenics courts in the new Atlantic Park in Playa Blanca, the LED spotlights in the
football field, the improvements in machinery and ventilation in the municipal gym, we also made improvements to the Uga wrestling arena.

These are already tangible works, to which will be added those that are in progress, such as the San Marcial de Rubicón sports center, the court in the center of the town of Playa Blanca, the Rocódromo of the Mediterranean Park, the shooting range that has already been put out to tender, and the flagship of this legislature and probably of the last five years of the
Yaiza City Council, the Playa Blanca Sports Hall valued at more than 8 million euros and which will open its doors to radically improve the way we practice different sports in the south, including swimming, handball, basketball, indoor football, and other disciplines that will have a place in this impressive
facility.

But because I am firmly convinced that the strength of sport is an economic engine, and not only because of the number of works that I have listed above and that generate hundreds of jobs, which if we add up the total amount in investment we are talking about more than 10 million euros in sports infrastructure in recent years, something that we should all be tremendously proud of who live in this municipality, Yaiza and Deportes Yaiza are also an economic engine due to the number of sporting events that we have been developing, mainly after the pandemic, and that have contributed to positioning us as the Island Capital of Sport. These are not words, they are facts, they are each and every
one of the sporting events that have been developed solely and exclusively in Yaiza, Trail races, MTB races, Rallies, Latin Sailing competitions, internationally renowned triathlons, nautical competitions that have positioned us globally, and the latest HandBike Vuelta a Playa Blanca that also repositions us in the international scene of inclusive sport.

All these events, also of tourist relevance, place Yaiza in a prominent position internationally in a strategic sector for our destination, tourism, and it is that more and more visitors are coming to Yaiza and Playa Blanca not only to enjoy the wonderful natural landscapes that we can offer, but they do so motivated by some of the events that we have been developing here and that, added to the excellent accommodation plant that we have, make us a unique destination in terms of sports and quality of tourist services.

Therefore, in this last year of mandate and knowing that there is much work to be done, I am not going to give up, it has never been my style, despite some unfounded political criticism, they will not discourage me, and we are working tirelessly to continue supporting local athletes through our subsidies, our base of any sports discipline, the native sport that we must continue to look at with attention and care, but above all we must continue to excite our constituents with new and better sporting events, with new and better projects in sports infrastructure and continue to contribute to the fact that sport also helps economically our merchants, hoteliers and restaurateurs. That is the model that the mayor, Óscar Noda, entrusted me with for the Sports Area and I hope to have and be faithfully corresponding to that premise.

To conclude, I just want to tell you that this year that remains we are still open to citizen collaboration for new projects and that the Department of Sports will be open to each and every one of the proposals that citizens want to send us so that together we can continue to build Yaiza as an Active Municipality, but above all the Island Capital of Sport of Lanzarote.

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