FIBA heap praise on state-of-the-art Valencia practice center

VALENCIA - Valencia Basket unveiled on Wednesday its state-of-the-art, world class L'Alqueria del Basket, the largest basketball practice center in Europe.

The club, which won its first Spanish domestic league title earlier this year, three decades after its creation, needed 16 months to build the facilities that span 15,000 square meters and are next to Valencia's Pabellon de la Font de Sant Lluis.

There are nine indoor courts and four outdoor courts with corresponding changing rooms. Now all of the Valencia teams, both men and women, boys and girls, will train at the same venue.

The investment of 18million euros to pay for the facilities was made by Valencia's main benefactor, Juan Roig.

"In life, you always have to give before receiving and this is what we have in our DNA," said Roig.

"L'Alqueria is the facility for the young to have the best possible conditions to form themselves in basketball, and also in values, and we want it to have a model and its own style of formation of players so that its name resonates not only in the Valencia region but in Spain, in Europe and the rest of the world."

There are not many clubs in the world that have this type of facility. It's great to see an elite club investing in the grassroots, which is key for our sport.FIBA Secretary General Patrick Baumann

FIBA Secretary General and IOC member Patrick Baumann and Spanish Basketball Federation president Jorge Garbajosa were among the many dignitaries to attend Wednesday's opening ceremony.

Baumann paid tribute to Roig, and Valencia Basket, for investing in the sport.

"The work done by the Valencia club in 30 years is impressive, you can see that there is a professional and a motivated team and that there is a will to continue to be there for many generations," he said.

"There are not many clubs in the world that have this type of facility. We are very fortunate to have people like Juan Roig in basketball. It's great to see an elite club investing in the grassroots, which is key for our sport.

"We are delighted to be here sharing the joy of the Valencia club. It has the addiction of basketball and we're very happy to be here. In the end, we are all here because we are united by the passion of basketball and the work at youth level, where it all starts."

Dignitaries got a first-hand look at the courts on Wednesday

FIBA