Barcelona opens public information for grants to federated sports facilities for clubs

The Barcelona Esports Institute (IBE) has opened the public information period for the regulatory bases of the grants intended to adapt privately owned sports facilities of an associative nature in the city to federation regulations—namely, pavilions and swimming pools managed by clubs and public utility entities. The resolution from the organization’s Presidency was issued on November 10, 2026, and published in the Official Gazette of the Province of Barcelona on November 12, 2026 (CVE 202610170414). Allegations may be submitted during the twenty days following the publication of the announcement.

The initially approved text initiates the proceedings for the bases and subjects them to public exhibition, with reference to the Official Gazette of the Generalitat de Catalunya, so that interested parties may examine the document and formulate allegations. If none are presented, the bases will be definitively approved without the need for a new express agreement, and the full text will be published. The resolution also provides for reporting the decision to the IBE Governing Council at the next session.

A threshold of 1.5 million euros per project

The bases establish a requirement that filters the type of application: projects with a contract execution budget of less than 1,500,000 euros, VAT included, will not be admitted for processing. The stated objective is to concentrate public resources on high-impact actions of a structural nature and avoid dispersion in low-scale interventions.

The threshold implies that ordinary maintenance actions, minor replacements, and any intervention of low economic or technical scale are excluded. On the other hand, projects not started at the time of application—provided they have a project—and works started as of January 1, 2026, are eligible for subsidies, on the condition that the expenses are executed and paid within the eligibility period of the call.

Requirements for clubs and entities

Applicants must prove five conditions:

• Be formally declared as a public utility entity.
• Have the facility registered in the Census of Sports Facilities of Catalonia (CEEC).
• Locate the equipment within the municipal boundaries of Barcelona.
• Compete at a federation level with the entity or sports section that will use the space.
• Be the owner of the premises or prove ownership derived from a public domain concession.

Each entity may only submit one application, and public facilities managed by third parties and those of for-profit companies are outside the scope of application. It will also be required to be up to date with tax and reimbursement obligations, to have justified previous municipal grants, and not to have been sanctioned for discriminatory practices.

What can be funded

The grants cover a single category: improvement, expansion, and renovation of private pavilions and swimming pools for the practice of federated sports. Within this category, two lines are included:

• Sports and federative adequacy: dimensional adaptation of courts and pools, installation or replacement of approved equipment, compliance with specific federative regulations, and recovery of unused spaces.
• Regulations and safety: structural and usage safety, technical installations (electricity, fire protection, thermal installations), sanitary conditions such as air or water treatment systems, and universal accessibility.

The required documentation includes a descriptive memory or technical project, data sheets and graphic documentation, a budget, a letter from the corresponding sports federation certifying the need for the action, proof of federative competition, and a photographic report. The processing will be electronic, through the grant application portal of the Barcelona City Council.

Evaluation, execution, and justification

The procedure will be resolved under a competitive bidding regime. A technical commission will examine the documentation and submit a proposal to the Evaluation Commission, which will determine the percentage of the grant. The competent body to grant the aid is the Presidency of the IBE, in accordance with article 5.2.i) of the organization’s statutes.

The minimum evaluation criteria are the degree of adequacy to federative and technical regulations, the sporting and social impact, the incidence of federated sport in the entity’s activity, the technical quality of the project, and the sustainability and efficiency of the proposal. Once the allocation is resolved, projects will have two years to be executed, and the justification will be made with a justification account accompanied by an audit report.

The grants will be compatible with other subsidies from other administrations or public and private entities, provided that the sum does not exceed the cost of the action. The call for applications will specify the maximum amounts and the applicable scales.

The measure is of particular interest to the city’s grassroots sports fabric: clubs that compete in federative categories and that, due to their size, have difficulties in assuming large-volume structural investments. The opening of the allegations period is the last opportunity to influence the rules which, once the deadline has closed, will be considered approved without any additional formalities.

Source: Official Gazette of the Province of Barcelona, November 12, 2026, Local Administration, pp. 1-20 (official reference: CVE 202610170414).