About 23,000 square meters with 30,000 cubic meters of drinking water. These are two of the main facts accompanying the construction of the largest wave pool in Europe, which since 2024 stands on the land adjacent to the Metropolitano stadium, in the San Blas-Canillejas district. But there is more: the annual water evaporation would exceed the total volume of water that fits in the lagoon, and in the summer months daily evaporation could reach 184,000 liters, according to the Madrid Ecologist Platform. Environmental and neighborhood groups oppose this project, which has received 15.7 million euros of public funds from the European Union and, in theory, intended for sustainable tourism. Construction has already begun, and the complex is scheduled to open in 2027.
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Furthermore, the judiciary has overturned the special urban plan with which the Madrid city council tried to regularize the municipal lands ceded years ago to Atlético de Madrid, although they have appealed the ruling. While the groups demand the suspension of the works due to the legal uncertainty in which they are carried out, those responsible for the future Gemswell Surf Madrid complex deny that the pool is affected by the court ruling. However, a search in the Madrid City Council’s urban planning viewer shows how the plot in question is indeed affected by the ruling.
María Ángeles Nieto, spokesperson for the Madrid Ecologist Platform, emphasizes that the project is “an absurdity.” According to calculations based on data provided by the Spanish Meteorological Agency, the water loss due to evaporation from the pool will amount to 32,200 cubic meters each year, a figure that exceeds by 7% the total capacity of the artificial lagoon, which would be filled with drinking water from the Canal de Isabel II, since Spanish regulations do not allow the use of reclaimed water for recreational purposes. The total water consumption of the complex would rise to 42,000 cubic meters, equivalent to the domestic consumption of more than 800 people for a year and a half.
“The pool includes a whole series of tertiary activities, such as a hotel and catering, which will generate greater crowding of people, traffic, and noise,” points out the ecologist. Nieto highlights that the project, including an artificial beach of 5,500 square meters, has not undergone the appropriate environmental assessment, one of the reasons why the Justice decided in 2025 to annul the special plan under which it was governed, approved in October 2024.
For its part, Atlético de Madrid indicates that the project has obtained a positive validation of the European DNSH (Do Not Significant Harm) principle by an independent expert, who has evaluated the six European environmental objectives with favorable results in all of them. Regarding water consumption, they detail that the facility integrates complementary high-precision measures, such as high-resistance technical waterproofing, a ‘herringbone’ drainage system to recover possible leaks, and perimeter splash guards that prevent losses by splashing, among others.
Public money for sustainable tourism
The project will cost its promoters 60 million euros, of which 15.7 will come from the Autonomous Resilience Fund, financed with European Next Generation resources through Buenavista Infrastructure, a firm chosen by the European Investment Bank (EIB) to channel financing towards “urban development and sustainable tourism projects,” as stated on the Ministry of Economy’s website. This company has declined to answer questions posed by El PAÍS, but they point out that all their investments “have always scrupulously complied with the conditions and eligibility criteria required for the deployment of the funds.”
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The EIB adds that these financial intermediaries, among other aspects, focus on “eligible sectors, sustainability criteria based on European regulations, and the requirements of the Recovery and Resilience Plan.” They also add that the agreements signed include provisions to “protect the proper use of public resources and ensure compliance with contractual commitments and the requirements established for the Next Generation funds.” Asked what will happen to the public money invested if the City Council’s appeal against the annulment of the special plan does not succeed, the entity led by Nadia Calviño responds that the promoter states that the plot in question is outside the scope of this procedure.
The Urban Planning area of the Madrid City Council assumes that if the plan were annulled by a final ruling, “a detailed study” would be carried out to determine the future of the plot. Atlético de Madrid adds that the ruling of the Madrid High Court of Justice makes no reference to the strategic environmental assessment. However, the ruling mentions that concept dozens of times. In the legal grounds of the ruling, it is established how the environmental assessment is indeed necessary for a modification of the special plan like the one made.
Nieto explains it from another perspective: “A simple search in the City Council’s urban planning viewer shows us that the plot is within what was annulled in the ruling.” At this point, the ecologist highlights “the paradox” that there is a ruling that annuls the construction, but it can still continue to be carried out, since the individual who denounced it did not request the precautionary suspension of the works.
Living worse than in downtown Madrid
The Las Musas – Las Rosas Neighborhood Association of San Blas also does not look favorably on the large wave pool. “We are going to find a nerve center not so much for sport, but for business, around the stadium,” says a spokesperson who prefers not to give their name for fear of reprisals, referring to the shopping center, golf courses, and auditorium projected on the land adjacent to the rojiblancos’ coliseum. The neighborhood fears that, again, the parking lots to be built will not be sufficient and that vehicles will congest the neighborhood streets. “We came to live here because they promised us a great public sports center and the metropolitan forest, but we have many more problems than if we lived in downtown Madrid,” concludes the affected resident.
The opposition in the City Council also criticizes the initiative. Antonio Giraldo, urban geographer and socialist councilor in the council, considers that the capital should move away from “very questionable megalomaniac projects” to “focus on public interventions that reach all districts.” This expert emphasizes that the city would appreciate the installation of more water points that can be accessed sustainably and responsibly. “We have 25 public pools for 3.5 million inhabitants. Public facilities should be designed to favor public solutions rather than offering them to private businesses,” he concludes.
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