After its inauguration in 1971 the Palau Blaugrana It has experienced all kinds of great events, highlighting, of course, those that have had the sections of the Barça as protagonists, both in European Cups, as in Leagues, King’s Cup, Club World Cup, etc, etc.
It has also hosted major tennis tournaments and exhibitions (Andrés Gimeno, Ilie Nastase, Manuel Orantes, Jan Kodes, Tom Gorman, Bob Hewitt, Jimmy Connors, Stan Smith, Rod Laver, Roy Emerson, Tony Roche, Arthur Ashe and Manolo Santana), World and European sports such as handball, roller hockey, fencing, taekwondo, judo, boxing …
Almudena Muñoz won the Olympic gold at the Barcelona’92 Games at the Palau
At the end of the 70s, a Spanish dream team, mostly made up of Barça players –the Trullols, Vilapuig, Torres, Centell–, won the European championship roller hockey.
The great event at the Palau was undoubtedly the Olympic judo tournament of the magical and unforgettable JJ.OO. from Barcelona’92 with the emotional gold of Miriam Blasco.
And the Palau has also witnessed the mythical Harlem Gobletrotters, the first handball Champions League against Proleter, the first Roller Hockey Final Four that Barça won against Porto after a 12-year drought of titles in the European Cup, the triumphs of basketball in the 1980s with the Epi, Solozábal, Sibilio …, and the futsal team, which achieved the third Champions League in its history in 2020.
‘Historic date for Barcelona’
Cover headline for the inauguration of the Palau
‘Historic date for Barcelona’ was the headline on the October 24, 1971 cover of Mundo Deportivo, which chose the opening of the Palau as its main theme. “With the inauguration, Barcelona yesterday marked a historic date in its 72-year existence. The popular power and the roots of the club in our region make its constant improvement a true symbol. The sardana ring came to underline, in its image of marvelous union, the strength of an entity that over time is gaining in dimension and prestige ”, was read on that cover. ‘A work worthy of the great Barcelona’ was the headline of the previous information on the 23rd.
The Palau shared the cover of that October 24, 1971 with two other news items, Manuel Orantes’s pass to the final of the Conde de Godó Trophy and the previous one for the final of the first field hockey World Cup, based in Barcelona, between Spain. and Pakistan, ultimately champion by 0-1. Orantes did win his final over Bob Lutz. A copy of MD was then worth 5 pesetas, three cents of a euro.