The Government of the Generalitat wants to resume negotiations so that Catalonia can be the seat of the 2031 edition of the Ryder Cup of golf, after the organizers of this test have communicated their intention to find a solution that allows this event to be held with the current facilities, without having to build a third field as was their initial intention, a claim that the Generalitat completely rejected.
As El Periódico advanced yesterday and confirmed to the ACN agency, the director of the Office of Strategy of the President of the Generalitat, Sergi Sabrià, sent a letter to the organizers of the Ryder Cup to try to save the candidacy Catalan, and has responded in this way to the letter sent to the Generalitat in August by the director of the golf competition, Guy Kinnings, in which he opened the door to "adapting" the two existing courses.
In this letter, Kinnings continues to defend the construction of a third field as an ideal option to meet the needs of this test, but admits his willingness to explore "all the options" and give Catalonia "all the possibilities" of host the event, taking into account the previous work that has been carried out. In this sense, the person in charge of organizing the Ryder Cup puts on the Generalitat's table the alternative of "adapting the existing facilities" and the use of adjacent land. Kinnings believes that this plan would require "a major project to redevelop the two current golf courses and carry out fit and safety tests which will take some time".
"We will have to see if this is viable. In the meantime, we ask you to reconsider your decision, as it could lead to the event having to go elsewhere in Spain, or indeed out of Spain, which would be a shame, warns Guy Kinnings, which which shows that the negotiation between the two parties will not be blowing and making bottles.
In the letter sent on September 21, Sabrià replied to his interlocutor that the Government is in favor of an "economically, socially and environmentally sustainable" Ryder Cup. In this sense, he adds that sustainability is "non-negotiable" in the current context of climate change. For this reason, he argues, the Generalitat's urban planning services have denied the construction of a third golf course and the expansion of tourist accommodation in Caldes.
However, regarding the "predisposition" of the organization to consider holding the event in the current facilities, Sabrià assures that the Government of the Generalitat offers to "work together to take the project forward". From the Presidency, a change in the position of the Ryder Cup organizers is detected and they insist that not making new permanent installations is an essential condition, reports ACN.
After this beginning of rapprochement between the Government and the promoters of the Ryder Cup was made public, the Catalan employer Foment del Treball expressed on social networks its satisfaction with the fact that "the Government is betting on the celebration of the Ryder Cup in Catalonia".
"It is a top-level sporting event that Foment and 40 other associations highlighted as a relevant opportunity for the future of the country", pointed out the Catalan business organization, which from the very beginning has been linked to the celebration of the Ryder Cup in Girona
