Jai Alai/Cesta Punta---Beti Jai Opens to the Public--for one day

The restoration of the iconic open air fronton Beti-Jai (Madrid) reached a new phase when the fronton was opened to the public for a day on Thursday, June 13, 2019. From what I saw and read, it has been, so far, a magnificent restoration. Originally opened in 1894, the 67 meter (220 feet) long, 20 meter (65 feet) wide concha (court) has not been used for Basque Pelota since 1919. It served many other purposes (SEE THE BLOG POST HERE) before being abandoned. Since 2015 a start-stop restoration has been underway. You can now see the results on the inside. What is still unclear is "where do we go from here." The inside amenities (seating, concessions, bathrooms, etc.) remain to be restored. How long that will take (some might question if that will happen), and, when, if ever, this magnificent arena will hear the crash of pelota on wall, remain to be seen. But just take a look at what they have done already, and begin to imagine...

News articles

Noticias de Navarre

El Independente

El Pais

Larazon

Ferrovial Blog: The Day the Beti Jai got its shine back. (English)

3d Virtual Tour (Beti Jai Twitter)

Pala/Remonte--Jose Javier Albisu's Histories of Pala and Remonte

Jose Javier Albisu Perez maintains a blog called PelotaManoRemonte, which specializes in the history of the modalities in its title. It is a great place to start for those who may love to watch these modalities, but are unaware of that history. He tells the histories through biographies of great players. He has two condensed histories on his blog. Both are in Castilian. They are:

1A. A Brief History of Pala (in 3 chapters)

Chapter 1: (18th and 19th Centuries)
Chapter 2:  (20th Century)
Chapter 3:  (20th and 21st Centuries)

Included are several biographies of great Palistas down through the years.

1B. earlier version (in 4 chapters)

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4

InnPala also contains a brief history of the sport by Jesus Azurmendi

2. A brief history of Remonte

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4

3. Remonte--1909-1950

Albisu has also written books about Remonte history, including a recent one biography of Koteto Ezkurra, one of the best players in the history of the sport, who retired last October.

Jai Alai/Cesta Punta--The Saga of the Preservation and Rehabilitation of Madrid's Beti Jai Fronton Continues.

Madrid's ancient Beti Jai Fronton, originally constructed in 1894, was a "Cathedral" of  Basque Pelota until 1919. After that it was used for various other functions, including an auto factory, Civil War police station and jail, and a brewery. Over the years it has fallen into disrepair resembling ruins. It is the last 19th Century fronton in Madrid. It was an outdoor fronton of 67x20x11 meters that seated 4,000 in its prime.

From 1989-2015, via a series of land purchases and an Official Bulletin of the Community of Madrid declaration of "Good of Cultural Interest," it has passed into the hands of the City Council. A contest was held for the best rehabilitation plan. In November of 2018 the contest was won by the "Bizitza Berria" ("New Life") plan produced by architects Javier Coronado Palomero and Amelia Rodriquez dela Torre Somoza. The central idea behind the winning plan was "to obtain the best architectural proposal for this space, with the aim of making compatible the preservation of the heritage values of the building with the most appropriate technical solutions for its possible sporting and cultural uses." The plan is now in litigation over a number of issues, one of which is the efficacy of a glass roof with respect to "Good of Cultural Interest."

One of the ultimate aims of the rehabilitation is a UNESCO declaration of the Fronton as a World Heritage Site. The wheels of litigation turn slowly, but hopefully a solution can be obtained and the Fronton, with or without a roof, can be rehabilitated. Hopefully, soon, the "Cathedral" will be restored.

Note: all English quotes have been obtained through Google Translate. Hopefully, I have gotten the essence of the story.

Beti Jai: The Last Surviving Basque Pelota Historic Fronton in Madrid
(HTML version)  (MAS Context, No. 28, Winter 2015, P. 102-122--.pdf version)

The story, from 1894-2015, in English.

All below articles and videos (except for the contest winner announcement (English)  are in Castilian

Beti Jai Home Page

Bizitza Berria para el Beti Jai: la nueva vida del frontón de Madrid (Marca, February 9, 2019 via Jai Alai News Facebook)

Detailed article covering the history and the issues.

Contest winner announcement with architectural drawings (metalocus.es)

El Beti-Jai se queda sin proyecto por decreto municipal (El Mundo, February, 15, 2019). The latest news.

De la ruina y el Esplendor  (Cronicas documentary, RTVE, Jan. 15, 2018 (43:36)

Memorias del Beti Jai (ABC TV documentary, 10:59)

Fronton Beti Jai: Patrimonio en Peligro (patrimonio UC3M Youtube,  2:05)