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One of the matches during the reopening of Beti Jai. EFE
The Ball Returns to Beti Jai in Madrid After a Century

The Ball Returns to Beti Jai in Madrid After a Century

Eight pelota and frontenis matches bring back the shine to the capital's most important fronton, restored after decades of ruin

Álvaro Soto

Madrid

Lunes, 28 de octubre 2024, 14:45

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The sound of the ball hitting the stone of the frontis has been heard again at Beti Jai in Madrid. True to its Basque name, joy returned to the most emblematic fronton of the capital, which on Sunday regained the use for which it was built 130 years ago. Eight hand and frontenis matches ended a century without pelota, and more than 400 people attended the venue, still far below the 4,000 who used to clap their hands at the end of the 19th century, when Basque pelota was the sport of choice in Madrid thanks to the Royal Family's passion, which had become hooked on this sport during their summers in San Sebastián.

At one in the afternoon, the two Guipuzcoan pairs, Iñaki Lizaso and Julen Urruzola on one side, and Iker Urmeneta and Arkaitz Esnaola on the other, reopened Beti Jai and ended the nightmare into which the fronton had sunk three decades ago.

Located in the Chamberí neighborhood, one of the most distinguished in Madrid, between Marqués de Riscal and Fortuny streets, the 'Sistine Chapel of frontons', as it was named for its beauty, was almost in ruins, squatted and with bushes growing freely.

Beti Jai has been restored in different phases since 2011, after several unsuccessful attempts to open, and during Easter it received its first visitors, first converted into an interpretation center. The pelota matches represent the definitive boost for the fronton, which dreams of hosting competitive matches.

The architect from Laredo, Joaquín de Rucoba, built this "commercial fronton" which was inaugurated in 1984 and in its early decades served as an auditorium, racetrack, mechanical workshop, plaster and cardboard workshop, political rallies, and stage for the inventions of the Cantabrian genius Leonardo Torres Quevedo. But after its splendor, bad times came. In 1918, the last pelota match was held, and in 1919 it was closed to the public to become a workshop for different uses (it was even the headquarters of the Harley-Davidson dealership in Spain in 1923). During the Civil War, it became a police station and prison, and after the conflict, it was used by Falangist music bands for their rehearsals.

In 1955, it was acquired by the automotive company Citroën, which kept it open until 1995. In 1997, a Basque company bought the facility for 2.3 million euros with the aim of hosting pelota matches again, but none of the plans considered then, such as converting it into a luxury hotel, materialized until 2010, when the Madrid City Council became involved in the restoration of the facility.

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