Cádiz CF is embarking on the largest non-sports project in its history. Manuel Vizcaíno, the club's president, alongside La Liga officials and other prominent figures from the sports and political worlds, presented the "Sportech City" design, which has the potential to become the driving force for the entire province of Cádiz.

A new "city" on the map of the Cádiz province

Sportech City will focus on three areas: sports, technological, and social. These will be further divided into eight interconnected sections, focusing on aspects such as health, sports, training, design, events, and industrial and technological development. The city will have its own university, sports clinic, exclusive space for the Cádiz CF first team, commercial space with a restaurant area and accompanying shops, a hotel, and a residence.

The project also includes the construction of a stadium that will additionally serve as an Event Center capable of hosting mass events, shows, and conferences throughout the year in a multidisciplinary and modern building equipped with state-of-the-art technologies. The conference areas are designed to accommodate 40,000 people, while the stands of the new stadium will have a capacity of 35,000 seats. Although the club insists that matches will still be played at Estadio Nuevo Mirandilla, it is hard to imagine that they won't take advantage of the opportunity to use the newer and larger facility for important matches.

© Cádiz Club de Fútbol

In Cádiz, there is no place where an event for more than 1,200 people can be organized. Large events should take place in football stadiums, and creating a new conference center could be a step towards transforming the city into a reference point for sports, emphasizes the club.

Among the main buildings in this Sportech industrial zone, there will be a 7,500 m² Data Center, a technology sector with 35,300 m² of warehouses for technology, health, and sports, a technological entrepreneurship incubator center with 6,100 m² of offices and co-working space for design and innovation and a User Experience (UX) Center with 5,600 m² of laboratories and prototype validation.

Costly new impetus

The investment, which will be implemented on the former Delphi company's premises in Puerto Real, abandoned for over fifteen years, will be directed by Javier Sánchez, partner of Igoid Sportec and chairman of the Confederation of Entrepreneurs of the Province of Cádiz (CEC). The consulting firm KPMG, which also collaborated on the construction of Estadio Metropolitano in Madrid, is involved in the project as well. The entity aims to promote economic revival in the Bay of Cádiz, transforming the area into a national reference point in terms of technology and sports.

Cádiz CF anticipates that approximately 4,200 jobs will be created during the construction phase, and during the operation of Sportech City, it could employ nearly 2,900 people, with 30% being highly qualified personnel. In March 2022, the total cost of the investment was estimated at €100 million, but with the development of the project, this amount has increased to €371 million.

© Cádiz Club de Fútbol

To finance the construction, Cádiz CF has established the Gades Sports Technology Industry Venture Capital Fund, a venture capital fund of which it is the sole owner. The club also relies on financial support from entities that will use Sportech City's services in the future. This project is also covered by the La Liga Impulso program, presented as a strategic programme of La Liga. Through it, the investment fund CVC, a reference partner with extensive experience in the sports industry, offers nearly €2 billion for the realization of development and consolidation projects from a sports and business perspective. This is what La Liga president Javier Tebas believes the venture being carried out by Cádiz CF is, which he highlighted during the official presentation of the project.

Cádiz CF combating low GDP

The football industry in Spain generates 194,000 jobs and contributes €8.39 billion, accounting for 1.44% of the national GDP. In this context, Cádiz CF generates 1979 jobs and has a total impact of €143 million. Of these, 737 jobs belong to the club itself, which generates economic value at the level of €72 million. This is in addition to what is generated on match days and its impact on La Liga as an organization.

The aforementioned €143 million consists of direct and indirect revenues. Daniel Coronado, a professor at the University of Cádiz, ensures that to understand the economic impact, one must look not only at the reality of the club but also at the entire city and province. Cádiz CF is one of the few companies employing over 100 workers in the area. Unemployment rate, GDP, and development are below the Spanish average, and industrial development negatively affects the service sector. Therefore, the club defends its role in providing added value to both the service and business sectors.

Thanks to the realization of this project, Cádiz CF will become one of the top ten companies in the province of Cádiz and one of the most important companies in Andalusia, assures Javier Sánchez Rojas, president of Sportech City.The design officially saw the light of day on March 28, 2022, during its first presentation. According to the latest announcements, Sportech City is expected to be operational in 2025.

© Cádiz Club de Fútbol