Heating Failure Disrupts National Basketball Game at León’s Sports Palace Amid Broader Maintenance Concerns
León's main sports venue faced heating and hot water outages during a national basketball match, spotlighting broader municipal facility maintenance failures and calls for strategic improvements.
- • Only one boiler was operational at the Palacio Municipal de los Deportes during a national basketball game in León, leading to lack of heating and hot water.
- • Teams had to move to another stadium to access showers after the match.
- • Izquierda Unida criticizes the absence of a proper maintenance plan and ongoing neglect in municipal sports facilities.
- • Calls for a comprehensive maintenance strategy and filling vacant maintenance positions are emphasized.
Key details
Izquierda Unida (IU) has condemned the lack of heating and hot water at the Palacio Municipal de los Deportes in León during a recent national basketball game, revealing that only one out of three boilers was operational. This issue forced the teams playing in the Liga Femenina 2 match between Mipelletymas BF León and Maristas Coruña to seek showers at the Estadio Municipal Reino de León after the game, highlighting serious facility problems.
Rubén Estévez, coordinator of IU León, criticized the absence of a coherent maintenance strategy for municipal sports facilities. He pointed out that despite inevitable equipment breakdowns, it is unacceptable for all boilers to fail simultaneously. This incident follows IU's December report documenting widespread deficiencies across nearly all municipal sports pavilions, which remain unaddressed. Estévez described the situation as due to the "negligence" of Sports Councilor Vicente Canuria and lamented the failure to fill vacant municipal maintenance positions after retirements.
While announcements have been made about new projects, such as an Olympic swimming pool and pavilion renovations, Estévez stressed the urgent need for a comprehensive maintenance plan rather than sporadic initiatives. The lack of hot water and heating during a high-profile national match underscores the facility’s precarious condition and the impact on athletes and users.
This heating outage incident sharply contrasts with other municipalities like Burriana, which recently awarded a €20,812 contract to modernize its sports facility management with digitalization after 20 years, aiming to improve operational efficiency and user experience.
This article was synthesized and translated from native language sources to provide English-speaking readers with local perspectives.
