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Otherwise known as the Olympic Village Area, the Parc de Mar Area underwent the greatest transformation of the four Olympic Areas created for the Games of the XXVth Olympiad. This involved the urban redevelopment of 100 hectares of brownfield land. To take it forward, a Special Urban Plan was required. That plan was drawn up by the team of architects formed by Josep Martorell, Oriol Bohigas, David Mackay and Albert Puigdomènech. The aim was to design a new neighbourhood that would be fully integrated into the urban fabric, initially to accommodate 15,000 athletes plus judges and referees, and then to become an area for residential use.

At the Barcelona’92 Olympic Games, it was in the Parc de Mar Area where some or all of a variety of competitions were held: badminton at the Pavelló de la Mar Bella (La Mar Bella Pavilion), sailing at the Port Olímpic (Olympic Port, specially built for the occasion), table tennis at the Poliesportiu de l’Estació del Nord (Estació del Nord Sports Centre) and Basque pelota (a demonstration sport). This and the Montjuïc Area together formed the so-called ‘sea’ Olympic Areas, whereas the La Diagonal and La Vall d’Hebron Areas were known as the ‘mountain’ areas. The investment made in the Parc de Mar Area was the highest of the four Olympic Areas and totalled nearly €973 million (161.88 billion Pesetas).