New resort boasts sporting connections

By DAISY SAMPSON [email protected]

Former England manager Sven-Göran Eriksson was joined by former world number one tennis player Stefan Edberg at the launch of the Cascade Performance Sports Academies, part of the Casdcade Resort, in Lagos on March 18.

The resort, which is set to cost 100 million euros to build and will employ 100 people in the five-star hotel alone, is due to open by the end of the year and it is hoped that the resort will become a sporting mecca especially for those interested in football, golf and tennis.

Sven-Göran Eriksson will be running the Cascade Resort Football Academy, Stefan Edberg is due to head the Tennis Academy and Alpine skier Martina Ertl will be leading the Recreational Sports Centre.

Sven-Göran Eriksson, Lagos Câmara president Júlio Barroso, CE of the Cascade Resort Urs Wild and Stefan Edberg. Photo: Daisy Sampson.

European Golf Design (EGD), the same design company as used by the PGA European Tour, has created the golf practice area of the Golf Academy.

Sven-Göran Eriksson told the Algarve Resident: “It always feels like coming home for me when I am in Portugal, and I hope that I will now be able to sell my home in Lisbon and buy a new property in the Algarve to be closer to the resort.

“I believe that this resort and academies are going to be very big and I am very happy to be part of such a fantastic project.”

Stefan Edberg reiterated the sentiments of Sven-Göran Eriksson: “I first came to Portugal last year and fell in love with this beautiful country and all the friendly people that I have met.

“I have a very strong belief that this resort will be a success because it is a modern concept and has been developed using vast pools of knowledge, so I am excited to see what we can make happen here.”

The launch focused on the sporting components of the resort but the Cascade Resort will also include a medical centre run by LuzDoc and the Hospital Particular offering various procedures from anti-smoking clinics to plastic surgery.

There will also be a five-star hotel, luxury villas and apartments, a shopping centre, restaurant and spa all located on the picturesque Ponte De Piedade peninsula in Lagos.

CEO of the Cascade Resort, Urs Wild, said: “This is a resort for everyone, not just the Portuguese or just for the foreigners. We want to become part of the local community and want the local people to know that we are here for them and they are able to use what we have at the resort.”