What happened on 7 May
Calle Alcalde Marcial Franco 3, San Fernando. For decades, this address housed Grill Casa Antonio, an «emblematic place» of the neighbourhood, named after Don Antonio. The facade is old, listed, and for weeks now covered by a large banner: «Opening Soon. Próxima Apertura. 2,300 m² Gay Adventure.» The banner refers visitors to sunconstructiongc.com.
On 7 May, shortly after midday, officers of the local police of San Bartolomé de Tirajana arrive and seal two posters to the door. The building work is halted, effective immediately. The story broke on 9 May through a report by Gaumet Florido in Canarias7.
The 1973 licence is not enough
The Servicio de Disciplina Urbanística has documented five works without permission: interior fitting, carpentry, fire-safety installation, security systems, and reinforcement of the load-bearing structure. Up to 7 May, the project's promoter, San Fernando Cruising SL, had filed only one application with the town hall — a request to transfer the existing activity licence.
That licence dates from 1973. It is restricted to bar, restaurant, and dance hall (sala de fiestas). A cruising club of 2,300 square metres, of which 1,200 are dedicated relax space, plus 1,000 lockers and a puppy-land zone, does not fit those categories. The town hall explains: the old licence has to be brought up to current building standards, a full project must be filed for a change of activity, and every individual building work needs its own approval — all of it under the heritage protection that applies to the old building.
What Gay Adventure is meant to be
The complex is to span 2,300 square metres, including 1,200 of «área de relax», plus a dance floor, two or three bars (the brand's posts contradict each other), a snack restaurant, 1,000 lockers, a puppy land, and a maze-style play area. The marketing sells the venue as «el club de cruising más grande de la isla» — the largest cruising club on the island.
The corporate background is striking. In the Boletín Oficial del Registro Mercantil, San Fernando Cruising SL was registered on 27 November 2025 with a quite different business purpose: spa, sauna, and steam-bath activities. A cruising club with a dance floor and three bars is not part of that registered scope.
Yumbo is not San Fernando
The Maspalomas cruising scene is old, established, and for decades concentrated in one place. The Yumbo Centrum, CC Cita, and Avenida Tirajana form a commercial entertainment zone where round-the-clock nightlife has been authorised since the 1980s. Nobody lives directly above those venues.
San Fernando is different. A residential quarter with a parish church, a municipal market, and families. This is the heart of the conflict, and it has nothing to do with cruising and everything to do with town planning. There is also no 2,300-square-metre venue available in the Yumbo. Anyone with ambitious plans has to leave the cluster — and Casa Antonio, with its old dance-hall licence, was a rare opportunity.
The market: eight cruising clubs already exist
CITA News has cross-checked the cruising scene with the trade guides The Gay Passport, Travelgay, misterb&b and Dunas Map. Active in the Yumbo cluster and surrounding area: The Factory (400 m², «currently the largest cruising club on Gran Canaria»), Strong Construction (Yumbo ground floor), The Hole (CC Cita, 300 m²), Noxon Club (200 m²), Reds Cruising Club (200 m²), Cruise Bar, Bar Hell, and Sauna Corpus. At 2,300 square metres, Gay Adventure would be almost six times the size of The Factory — by far the largest venue of its kind in Maspalomas, probably in Europe.
The residents: spatial, not moral
An owners' association of a nearby residential complex filed a written complaint with the town hall in April 2026. Canarias7 sums up the residents' position in one sentence: «San Fernando is not the Yumbo. The Yumbo is a delimited entertainment zone; our neighbourhood is a place to live.»
None of the quoted residents object to the cruising scene as such. Maspalomas earns millions every year from Pride and Fetish Week. The conflict is created by the address — a residential street rather than an entertainment zone.
Quick seals are her trademark
Davinia Ramírez Collado, the councillor in charge of Disciplina Urbanística, has a documented pattern. In May 2024, according to Maspalomasnews, she ordered the seal of three rental-car container offices in the Yumbo area «within six days», where the administration would have had «four years» to launch a disciplinary procedure. In March 2026, after a retaining wall collapsed, she ordered an emergency seal at Apartamentos Águila Playa, as Digital Faro Canarias reported. The 7 May action at Casa Antonio fits this pattern.
What happens now
Three tasks at once: bring the old licence into line with current building standards, file a full project for a change of activity, and apply for each individual building work — all of it under the heritage protection. Only when all three are in place and approved can the seal be lifted.
The advertising banner still reads «Opening Soon». CITA News has asked the promoters for a statement via the contact form on sunconstructiongc.com and via the official Instagram and X profiles. By press time there had been no response.
Next thread: more to come
A seal on its own is an administrative story. In this case there is more behind it, and that is where our reporting over the next weeks begins.
First: Who is behind San Fernando Cruising SL? The registered business purpose suggests a spa-and-sauna operation; the marketing promises a cruising club. That mismatch has an economic reason — and that reason has a name we are not yet ready to publish, because we want it confirmed by several independent sources.
Second: How does Gay Adventure fit into a wider shift in European cruising geography that has been under way since Covid? A Parisian institution with more than two decades of history has not reopened as a cruising club since 2020. Industry heavyweights are relocating. Maspalomas is one of the centres of gravity into which this shift is moving.
Third: What role does the political context inside the town hall play, where a criminal complaint is currently being filed against the very councillor in charge of urban discipline — by her own former chief of department? A separate strand, with separate actors — a separate report is in preparation.
Until those confirmations are in place, the Casa Antonio story remains what it became on 7 May: a building site without a licence, a residential quarter that is starting to pay attention, a councillor who reacts quickly, and an advertising banner hanging weeks ahead of reality.
Frequently asked questions
- What does «precinto» mean?
- A seal. Physical posters are placed on the door indicating that the construction site is shut down. Removing the seal is itself a criminal offence.
- Why is the 1973 licence not enough?
- It is restricted to bar, restaurant, and dance hall. A cruising club with a relax area and 1,000 lockers does not fit those categories. Building law has also been thoroughly reformed in over fifty years.
- Is the project banned or only delayed?
- Delayed. With all permits, compliance with current standards, and compatibility with the zoning plan, the town hall can approve.
- Who is San Fernando Cruising SL?
- Founded 27 November 2025. BORME business purpose: spa, sauna, steam bath. External brand: Sun Construction. Planned venue: Gay Adventure. The identity of the corporate background is being verified by CITA News.