Yesterday Sunday, in the wee hours of the morning, Hotel Verdanza, on Green Island, said goodbye to its latest “regular customer.”
Today, in the early hours, they opened their doors exclusively to international-sized guests who will help the hospitality industry straighten its finances a bit, who have been hit hard since the closure caused on the island by the pandemic of Covid-19.
The Verdanza – which has stood out as a hotel closely linked to sporting events on the island in recent years – will be from today the home of the national teams of Mexico, Bahamas, Puerto Rico, United States, Dominican Republic, Cuba , Virgin Islands and Canada. The teams will face in the third and final qualifying window in the AmeriCup 2022 tournament, which will be played from 17 to 21 February, without public and in the bubble format at the Coliseo Roberto Clemente, in San Juan .
About 222 rooms – located between the six floors of the main tower of the hotel and three floors of the adjoining building overlooking the pool – will be occupied in its entirety by the players and FIBA staff who will work in the window.
The Verdanza will become a huge bubble where athletes will have to stay at all times in their designated areas under strict anti-Covid protocols.
“This is going to be a big bubble,” said Ricky Newman, Verdanza’s general manager. “Starting Sunday (yesterday) morning we say goodbye to a corporate client we’ve had for many years here. Once he left, the hotel is 100 percent bubble with FIBA until February 22. No there will be tourists, ”he reported.
“For us, this is falling from the sky, as this is a time when global tourism due to the pandemic is on the rise. Hotels in Puerto Rico barely have an occupancy of 20 or 30 percent. Filling a hotel is a blessing and this is a very positive impact for us even if it is for a short period.Thanks to that money is moving and we were able to hire new staff even temporarily.This is easily a good millionaire injection for the industry.This is something that was not seen, I would say, that from February 2020, ”he added.
All health measures, provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Puerto Rico Department of Health, and FIBA itself, have been implemented in the Verdanza.
“Each team will have a floor. There is no ‘jangueo’ here in the main room. We have very strict restrictions. Players simply arrive, go to their dining room – located on the same floor where they will be staying – and there they will eat. or they will be taken to their food chambers, ”he explained.
About 1,000 meals will be prepared daily and they will also have a medical support team to help with any emergency, and will also administer coronavirus testing.
“This is a challenging project, but at the same time it hasn’t been that difficult, as we had previously implemented a fairly rigorous protocol,” Newman argued. “What has helped us a lot has been the restriction imposed by FIBA on delegations to limit a maximum of 25 people per representation. That way we can maintain better control,” he added.
Puerto Rico, which will have owner José Juan Barea in uniform, begins its participation on February 19 against Mexico, and on February 20, against the Bahamas, as part of the action of Group D.
In this group, the United States – already classified – is unconquered with 4-0. It is followed by Mexico, with 2-2; Puerto Rico, 1-3; and Bahamas, 1-3. The top three in each group advance to the 2022 AmeriCup.
Group C is made up of the Dominican Republic, Cuba, the Virgin Islands and Canada. This group kicks off on February 17, with the Virgin Islands facing Canada, at 8:00 pm Cuba announced that it will not participate due to the Covid-19.
Newman, who is also a big fan of the sport, crosses his fingers for Puerto Rico to get his ticket to the 2022 AmeriCup. In this case, the Island could be home to one of the stops and the Verdanza would have a new bonanza.