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 Origin of the Palacio de Deportes
In May of 1952, José María Gutiérrez del Castillo, who at that time was the deputy mayor of Madrid, promoted the creation of a Palacio de Deportes, a building that already existed in the rest of the European capital cities. The site which had been occupied by the old bullring in the Carreterra de Aragón was considered to be suitable for the new construction.
In January of 1953, tenders were called for the building of the Palacio de Deportes and in January of 1956, the National Sports Delegation selected the preliminary plan presented by the architects José Soteras and Lorenzo García Barbón, who had been responsible for the Barcelona Palacio de Deportes. This construction had been opened in 1955 to serve as a venue for the Mediterranean Games of the same year.
The Madrid Palacio de Deportes, with a capacity of 20.000 spectators, would have a velodrome and a show jumping ring, and could be the venue for different competitions such as basketball, volleyball, indoor hockey, skating, table tennis, tennis, boxing, fencing, etc. The Palacio de Deportes could also hold other shows such as traditional festivals, ballet or concerts, as indicated in the agreement with the Executive Committee of the National Sports Delegation.
After the work had been finished on 8 January, 1960, the Palacio de Deportes was inaugurated with an impressive multisports ceremony on 25 February of the same year with the participation of the cyclists Guillermo Timoner and Martín Bahamontes, as well as other sportsmen and sportswomen.
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HISTORY OF THE PALACIO DE DEPORTES
