VelaBasket: Training, Development and Passion for Basketball
February 17, 2026
With three professional courts and a residence for 150 athletes, the Espert-Vela family project is starting to become an international reference and a social meeting point starting with the 2027/2028 season.
Sueca has begun to shape one of the most ambitious sports projects in recent decades in the region. The Espert-Vela family has officially started the works of VelaBasket, a complex of more than 13,000 square meters designed to merge high sports performance with human training. With an eye set on the 2027/2028 season, Sueca is preparing to house an elite infrastructure that transcends the traditional concept of a pavilion.
The magnitude of the project is reflected in its figures, including an initial investment that is around 20 million euros, and on the agents involved. A few months ago, the City Council of Sueca unanimously approved a modification of its urban plan necessary to house the infrastructures in one of its industrial estates. There will be two buildings that will form the VelaBasket complex. On the one hand, the sports facility, designed by Study 55 and executed by Construcciones Francés, will have three professional tracks equipped with the latest surface and lighting technologies, allowing the simultaneous practice of high-level training and competitions. Its central court will highlight, a space that will have all the features for professional teams to carry out stages and preparations. The sports facility will be completed with a clinic equipped with the latest technology, a high-performance gym and a leisure and rest area.
At the same time, the “heart” of the complex's conviviality rises: a modern residence with capacity for 150 people. Designed by Adrià Vinyoles Architecture and built by Martose Buildings, this building will accommodate young talents, concentrated teams and international students, ensuring a safe environment for study and rest.
A backbone project
Under the motto “On juga el futur” (Where the future plays), VelaBasket has structured its offer so that each profile finds its place, whether on the track or in the stands. Far from being limited to the elite, VelaBasket has structured its offer to integrate all levels of basketball into the same space. Its comprehensive model will range from a training school for boys and girls with basic methodologies, to technification and high-performance campuses for promising young people seeking professionalization. This global vision is completed with international exchange programs that will connect Sueca with the world, a technical academy for the continuous training of coaches with industry experts and, fundamentally, activities open to the local population so that families can enjoy sports as a social meeting point.
The director of the VelaBasket facilities is the former local player Raúl Matoses, who underlines the integrative nature of the new space: “With these more than 13,000 square meters, we are not only seeking sporting excellence on our three courts, but also creating a home. VelaBasket will be a comprehensive project, a space where any young person can learn the values of sport at our school, while a future international star residing in our residence trains on the adjoining court. We want to be a social engine where high performance, training and family leisure coexist”.
An economic and social reference for the city
In addition to consolidating itself as the new house of the historian Sueca CB, VelaBasket promises to be an economic and social revulsive for the town. The capacity of its residence and the attraction of international tournaments will place the city on the sports tourism map, while its local programs ensure that the complex is a living space open to citizens 365 days a year.
