| Beti Jai fronton | |
|---|---|
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| Location | Madrid,Spain |
| Coordinates | 40°25′52″N3°41′28″W / 40.431°N 3.69112°W /40.431; -3.69112 |
| Official name | Frontón Beti Jai |
| Type | Non-movable |
| Criteria | Monument |
| Designated | 27 January 2011 |
  Location of Beti Jai fronton in Spain | |
TheBeti Jai fronton is asport venue located inMadrid,Spain.
Located at 7 Marqués de Riscal St., the building (inNeo-Mudéjar style) dates from 1893 and it was opened in 1894.[1][2] The last game was played in thefronton in 1919, after which it was used for several purposes.The venue is the last surviving 19th-centuryBasque pelota fronton in Madrid.[2] It was declaredbien de interés cultural on 27 January 2011.,[3] and it was fully renovated in 2019.[4]
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Thefronton was begun to be built in 1893, with a budget of approximately 500 000pesetas. It is due to a design by architect Joaquín Rucoba (1844–1919), author of thePlaza de toros de La Malagueta, theMercado de Atarazanas andpark inMálaga, and theCity Hall of Bilbao, among other works. It was the fourth infrastructure of these open features inMadrid at the end of the 19th century, in a time when the sport ofBasque pelota reached a remarkable popularity in the Spanish capital. It was preceded, in this order, the frontons Jai Alai (1891),Fiesta Alegre and Euskal Jai.
It was opened on 29 April 1894[5] (other sources indicate 29 May that year)[6] and it was in operation until 1919.Leonardo Torres Quevedo used it between 1904 and 1906 as a center for the development of his automatic devices.[7] With theCivil War duringSiege of Madrid its facilities were converted into a police station, and during the early years ofFrancoist Spain, it served as a test site for musical bands linked to the SpanishFalange. In the middle of the 20th century, it was sold to the auto companyCitroën, who used it as a repair shop.
In 1997 it was bought for 2.3 millioneuros by theBasque company Jai Alai Fronton, initially intended its recovery for sport use. Subsequently, the property was taken over by the company Aguirene.[8]
On 27 January 2011 it was declaredBien de Interés Cultural by theCommunity of Madrid.[3]
In 2010 the City Council of Madrid began a process ofexpropriation, completed in 2015, and paying for it the amount of 7 million euros and started an extensive restoration, which was completed in 2019.[9]
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The Beti Jai Fronton is located at number 7 of the Calle del Marqués de Riscal, very nearby of thePaseo de la Castellana, in theMadrilenian district ofChamberí. It occupies a plot of 3609 m2 and the built area reaches 10 800m². It is made in different styles, including most notably theEclectic of the main facade, theNeo-Mudéjar present in some parts of the interior and theCast-iron architecture characteristic of the 19th century.
Its core comprises an outdoorsfield, 67 m long, 20 m wide and 11 m high. Around the same it extend the stands, that around the track in its eastern and southern sides, drawing a plant semi-elliptical.
The grandstand has a capacity for 4000 people and is divided into four floors, closed at the inside by balconies with railings interconnected via stairs ofwood. It is supported by a network of columns and beams ofwrought iron, some of them curved to give inclination to the stands, and has wooden deck. On the roofs are preserved remains offrescoes.
On the western side rises aNeo-Mudéjar curved wall.
There have been other frontones also called Beti Jai inBarcelona,San Sebastián andLogroño.[10] the San Sebastianan was subsequently the Teatro Circo and disappeared when a fire occurred in 1913.[11]
Media related toFrontón Beti Jai at Wikimedia Commons| Federations |  | |
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| Fronton grounds | ||
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| Notable Pelotaris | ||
| Pelota at the Olympics | ||
| Defunct frontons | ||
| Related articles | ||