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Date Published: 14/05/2026

Los Canales pools set to reopen this summer in Cartagena

The Ayuntamiento is preparing a new access fee as it gets ready to run the sports and leisure complex from mid-June

A familiar summer favourite is set to return in Cartagena, with the swimming pools and sports facilities at Rafael de la Cerda Park, better known as Los Canales de Tentegorra, due to reopen this summer under Ayuntamiento management. The plan is for the pools, tennis court and paddle tennis courts to be available again around mid-June, giving local residents back a much-loved place to swim, play sport and spend the summer.

The Governing Board is due to approve the transfer of public property on Thursday, which will allow the Ayuntamiento to take over the complex indefinitely. The agreement covers the recreational pools, changing rooms, sports courts and multipurpose areas, while the land and facilities will remain state-owned.

Mayor Noelia Arroyo said the aim is for the service to reopen “this very summer” through a municipal system so that people in Cartagena can continue enjoying it. She also stressed the importance of keeping the facilities open after decades of use by generations of local families. “The important thing is that the Ayuntamiento is going to open the swimming pools and provide this service to all the residents of Cartagena,” she said.

Preparatory work has already been completed, and the Commonwealth carried it out “at zero cost to the Ayuntamiento”. That means the local authority can now focus on running the service rather than starting from scratch. For this summer, the facilities will be managed directly with municipal resources and support from different departments, with a later plan to put the management out to tender.

Access will not be free, however. The Ayuntamiento is currently working on creating a fee to cover the cost of the service, including staff, instructors and continuous supervision throughout the summer. The mayor said the intention is to keep the price “as low as possible” while still making the service sustainable.

Arroyo said the facilities could be up and running “around mid-June”, which is likely to be welcome news for many in Cartagena looking forward to a summer return for one of the city’s best-known leisure spaces.

Image: Ayuntamiento de Cartagena

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