Rafa Nadal's project starts

a centre of excellence

Rafa Nadal, Spain's highest paid sportsman and the richest man in the Balearic Islands according to Forbes, will soon see his the project of his dreams become reality. Work on his International Tennis Centre in his native Manacor has just started with gigantic earth moving machines clearing the enormous 47 thousand square metre plot in readiness for the building to commence.

It's thought that Rafa himself will perform the first stone laying ceremony on the 24^th November when he has completely recovered from his recent appendix operation in Barcelona and before playing tennis again in Dubai.
The centre is just another part of the great work that Rafa does for both charity and to promote the sport via his tennis foundation and will basically be a centre of excellence for budding young tennis players but with many other facilities too. Estimates put the cost of the centre at around €15 million, some of which has been personally financed by him, and with a completion date some 18 months from now.
When finished the centre will have some stunning architectural features and contain numerous tennis and other sports courts, a gym, spa, swimming pools, medical centre, shops and a restaurant. It will accommodate 140 'pupils' who will study in English and also provide hotel type accommodation for tennis players on tour in Europe who need really good training facilities and somewhere to stay close to the tournaments.

The main feature of the centre is its crowning glory the large cylindrical foyer, completely double glazed and showcasing Nadal's 'bull's head' logo which will be highlighted by the changing colours of its subtly toned illumination at night.
It sounds like a great boon for Manacor and Mallorca as a whole, so well done to Rafa Nadal for putting back something into the island and the sport he loves which has given him so much!
Published 17 November 2014 by Stephen Whit