The Ministry of Culture and Sports of Guatemala announced the construction of two Sports Cities through a project that the Government presents as the reactivation of infrastructure for high-performance sports and physical activity after more than 76 years without investments of this kind.
According to Guatemalan Culture Minister Luis Méndez Salinas, the Sports Cities will be built in the departments of Chimaltenango and Izabal with the purpose of decentralizing government investment and promoting sports throughout the country.
The projects will enter their startup phase this month, with the laying of the first stone on August 21 in Zaragoza, Chimaltenango, and on August 25 in Los Amates, Izabal.
The official made the announcement during La Ronda on Monday and linked the execution of the complex network with decades of neglect of sports infrastructure, stating that the country had not promoted works of this nature since the construction of the Olympic City, the National Gymnasium, and the Doroteo Guamuch Flores Stadium.
He also said that progress is being made in the arrangements for a third sports city in Las Cruces, Petén, and for another development in the southeastern part of the country. In the case of Petén, Méndez Salinas specified that the project is already in the process of being generated in the National Public Investment System, a preliminary step to move forward with its construction.
The minister explained that the official priority is not limited to lifting…
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The Ministry of Culture and Sports of Guatemala announced that the Sports Cities of Chimaltenango and Izabal will begin their startup phase in August. (AI-enhanced image) The Ministry of Culture and Sports of Guatemala announced the construction of two Sports Cities through a project that the Government presents as the reactivation of infrastructure for high-performance sports and physical activity after more than 76 years without investments of this kind. According to the Guatemalan Minister of Culture, Luis Méndez Salinas, the Sports Cities will be built in the departments of Chimaltenango and Izabal with the purpose of decentralizing government investment and promoting sports throughout the country. The projects will enter their startup phase this month, with the laying of the first stone on August 21 in Zaragoza, Chimaltenango, and on August 25 in Los Amates, Izabal. The official made the announcement during La Ronda this Monday and linked the execution of the complex network with decades of neglect of sports infrastructure, stating that the country had not promoted works of this nature since the construction of the Olympic City, the National Gymnasium, and the Doroteo Guamuch Flores Stadium. He also said that progress is being made in the arrangements for a third sports city in Las Cruces, Petén, and for another development in the southeastern part of the country. In the case of Petén, Méndez Salinas specified that the project is already in the process of being generated in the National Public Investment System, a preliminary step before moving forward with its construction. The Minister of Culture and Sports of Guatemala, Luis Méndez Salinas, announced that the Sports Cities of Chimaltenango and Izabal will begin their startup phase in August. The minister explained that the official priority is not limited to building infrastructure but also to recognizing recreation, sport, and physical activity as factors associated with public health, coexistence, and democratic life. In this regard, he attributed the push for the plan to a presidential priority. Méndez Salinas said that these new sports cities aim to correct a historic concentration of quality facilities in the capital. According to him, for decades the only reference sports complex was located in Guatemala City. The complexes will not repeat the same plan. The head of the Ministry of Culture and Sports explained that each design responds to the most practiced sports in the department where it will be built. In Zaragoza, the project will prioritize cycling and an investment of 110.5 million quetzals (USD 14.2 million) is planned. In Los Amates, the emphasis will be on skating, with an estimated investment of 129.3 million quetzals (USD 16.6 million). Each sports city will have a design according to the most practiced disciplines, with priority for cycling in Zaragoza, skating in Los Amates, and boxing in Las Cruces. (Guatemala Ministry of Culture) Meanwhile, the future sports city of Las Cruces will have a component focused on boxing, and the cost is currently unknown because the work has not been put out to tender. Each Sports City will feature multipurpose spaces, in addition to the specific component defined for each venue. This structure aims to combine general use with discipline-specific specialization. During his speech, Méndez Salinas summarized the political and institutional meaning of the project with one phrase: “It is about resuming that vision of the country and an institutionality that actively works to seek the happiness of its inhabitants.” The Minister of Culture, Luis Salinas, stated that recreation, sport, and physical activity are part of a policy linked to public health and coexistence. (Guatemala Ministry of Culture) Additionally, each project will have its own treatment plant, electrical room, security, control booth, vehicle and motorcycle parking, changing rooms, children’s play areas, a civic square, a cultural square, and multiple green areas.