It will be a “turning point for ice sports,” says federation boss
The Winter Sports Federation of Portugal (FDIP) is going to build the country’s first winter sports pavilion in Seixal, which the federation’s president says is fundamental to developing winter sports in the country and achieving good results.
The first Olympic-sized pavilion for ice sports is the result of a partnership with the municipal council of Seixal, in the district of Setúbal, which provided the land and other conditions to facilitate the deal, such as tax exemptions.
The federation is due to invest an estimated €10 million to have the pavilion ready by the end of 2027 and equipped for short track speed skating, figure skating, ice hockey and curling.
“Portugal will have an infrastructure available so our athletes can train in the best conditions. Results appear from the moment there are conditions to practice a sport at an excellent level. The investment is made with this objective in mind,” FDIP president Pedro Flávio told Lusa news agency.
The federative leader is confident that constructing the pavilion, which has been an ambition for several years, “will be a turning point for ice sports” in Portugal and attract players, contributing to developing these sports in the country.
“It will certainly have a significant impact. That’s what we’re aiming for and we’re working towards because from the moment there’s an infrastructure to develop these sports, other clubs that aren’t linked to winter sports will start to appear, there will be more athletes, more academies,” Pedro Flávio told Lusa.
“I think this pavilion will make the Portuguese look at these sports differently,” Flávio added.
Currently, Portuguese speed skaters train in the Netherlands and Germany, and ice hockey players train in Madrid, where there are several rinks. In fact, the only Portuguese ice hockey team in competition plays in the Iberian League in Spain, and figure skaters who live abroad train where they are, and those from the Serra da Estrela academy travel to Madrid.
As the federation boss explained, for those who have reached a high competitive level, such as some speed skaters, it is “essential to train where the conditions are ideal”, which means having to travel a lot – with all the costs that such travelling entails.
“Although there’s a big investment in building the pavilion, in the long term it will be very good for the federation because we’ll reduce these travelling costs. We’ll be able to organise internships and training sessions in our country,” Flávio said, confident that the future pavilion in Portugal will have the characteristics to attract competitions from international federations and foreign teams.
It will allow Portuguese sportspeople to “train in the best possible conditions for longer”, he added. “To train at the same level as we do abroad, we needed an infrastructure of this nature”.
Pedro Flávio stressed that while Portugal came close to qualifying a skater at the last Winter Olympics and four-speed skaters were qualified at the last Youth Olympics, the competition is very fierce to quality for the Winter Olympics. The investment in the new pavilion is designed to bear fruit over a longer period of time. “Maybe 10 to 15 years is the time we need to have athletes at international level competing for top spots,” he said.
According to the FDIP president, work with investment funds, investors, and banks to finance the project has been underway for some time.
The land transfer protocol was signed on Saturday and the pavilion will also be made profitable with other facilities, such as shops, a medical clinic and restaurants.
Source: LUSA
