FC Barcelona to celebrate 50 years of Palau Blaugrana with an institutional act this Saturday

FC Barcelona to celebrate 50 years of Palau Blaugrana with an institutional act this Saturday

The event will mark the start of a year of activities during which the Club will honour the teams, sportspeople, and professionals that have made the location a sporting icon and asset for the Club

On Saturday October 23, it will be fifty years since the Palau Blaugrana was inaugurated. A half-century for a facility that houses the professional basketball, handball, futsal, and roller hockey teams - a true representation of the Club's encompassing spirit towards different sports. FC Barcelona will commemorate the event with a private institutional act from 10:45am CEST, starting at the Palau Box and ending in the Auditori 1899 with an event open to the media from 11.45am CEST.

A significant number of sporting and institutional representatives will attend the event, led by president, Joan Laporta, and several members of the Board of Directors. They will be joined by relatives of Agustí Montal - the president who inaugurated the Palau in 1971 -, relatives of the architects  Francesc Cavaller and Josep Soteras - the building's designer - , representatives from the professional sports teams from 1971, the inaugural year. Also attending are representatives from the current teams, the professional sports teams managers, some of the sportspeople whose jersey has been retired to the Palau, along with Club institutional representatives, sponsors, and sporting commission members.

The Club has invited the guests to the Palau Box. In the lobby, a commemorative plaque will be revealed before a group photo of everyone present on the hall floor. The act will then move to the Auditori 1899, with speeches and presentations that will go through the Palau's history from the perspective of each professional sport played in the venue.

This event will mark the start of a year of activities to highlight the value of a space in which 382 official titles have been won and witnessed by thrilled Barça fans. The Palau will turn fifty years old and with a total refit on the horizon, it will become a latest-generation facility holding 15,000 spectators, capable of hosting top quality sporting, cultural, and social events.

The cornerstone of the Palau was lain on September 24, 1970, and after just over a years' work, it was inaugurated on October 23, 1971, hosting several games of volleyball and handball. With a total cost of 135 million pesetas, the large dome built from prefabricated reinforced concrete is its most distinguishing feature, which made the sporting venue one of the most modern and aesthetically appealing in Spain at the time.

Força Barça
Força Barça

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