Seats for stands made 100% with fishing nets recovered from the Mediterranean. What began as a pilot test at the Benito Villamarín Stadium has been consolidated into SPARK ECO, a series of monobloc seats that materializes the circular economy applied to sports furniture. This is the story of how we did it.
A problem that we could no longer ignore
Every year about 12 million tons of plastic are dumped into seas and oceans. A very significant part of this waste comes from abandoned or lost fishing nets and gear, especially persistent plastics that take decades to degrade and that become death traps for a multitude of marine species.
Faced with that reality, at FanBase Seating we asked ourselves a simple question: if we manufacture seats for stands and sports facilities throughout the world. world, why not use precisely that waste as raw material? The answer came from Gravity Wave , the Alicante company (based in Calp) specialized in marine circular economy that has been working for years with traditional fishermen and ports to remove nets from the Mediterranean and other Spanish seas.
Collaboration with Gravity Wave: from waste to GRAVITEC® pellet
Gravity Wave had developed a material that changed the rules of the game: GRAVITEC® HDPE, recycled plastic pellets made from 100% fishing nets and marine ropes recovered from seas and ports. A material traced through blockchain (you can know exactly where each batch comes from) and certified under the EuCertPlast and RecyClass standards, the most demanding in the recycling industry.
The challenge we took on at FanBase was huge: converting that pellet—technically complex for the characteristics of the recycled nets—in a stand seat that complied with sports regulations, resisted vandalism, withstood the elements for years and maintained the comfort that a fan expects. After months of testing, trials and joint development, we achieved it.
Real Betis and Reale Seguros: the first stadium in the world with seats made from 100% recycled nets
The project needed a first scenario that was up to par. We find it in Real Betis Balompié, a club that through its environmental sustainability program Forever Green (led by Rocío Ruiz-Berdejo Yñiguez since 2020) had already established itself as one of the most sustainable football clubs in the world – second in Europe according to Brand Finance, first in LaLiga according to Holaluz – and its sponsor Reale Seguros, committed for a long time years with the Plastic Free Oceans movement.
In May 2023, during the match against RCD Espanyol baptized as «Sustainability Match», the 30 first stands in the world made 100% with recycled fishing nets were installed at the Benito Stadium Villamarin. This was announced by the club itself in its official statement and this was also collected by Gravity Wave on the page dedicated to the project. What began as a pilot test has been extended to different areas of the stadium, with the club’s declared desire to progressively equip a good part of the stands with this same solution.
As Álvaro García Artiñano, Head of Alliances at Gravity Wave, explained at that launch: «This project means a before and after for us, “Since after many months of testing, thanks to our friends at Fan Base, we have managed to manufacture the first seat made with 100% net waste.” And Rafael Muela, manager of the Real Betis Foundation, summed it up like this: «We have to take advantage of the great speaker that football represents to raise awareness throughout the world of the importance of caring for the environment.»
From pilot test to product: SPARK ECO is born
That joint development did not remain a one-time action. It was the beginning of something bigger. Today, that work has been consolidated into an industrialized range available for any sports facility in the world: the SPARK ECO series, in its versions SR (without backrest with lumbar support), CR (with backrest) and CRO (with perforated backrest).
The characteristics that define it:
- Material: GRAVITEC® HDPE 100% recycled from fishing nets, in M4 outdoor version (85% Gravitec + 15% anti-UV additive) or M2 version with flame retardant (75% Gravitec + 25% additives), according to UNE 23727.
- Ergonomic design: lumbar support, breathable undulations, drain hole and closed design around the base for easy cleaning.
- Suitable for outdoor use in demanding weather conditions.
- Tested and certified by the Institute of Biomechanics of Valencia (IBV) under the standards UNE-EN 12727:2017 (aligned seats, safety requirements, resistance and durability) and UNE-EN 13200-4:2023 (facilities for spectators).
- Light weight (approximately 0.9 kg in the SR model) and optimized packaging (240 units per pallet) that reduce the transport footprint.
Due to the nature of the recycled material, the color range of SPARK ECO is deliberately limited — mainly oceanic greens and blues deep ones like RAL 6012 and RAL 5018—because we wanted the material to tell what it is, without disguising it.
Why this project matters (and why it is just the beginning)
SPARK ECO is not just a stand seat. It is proof that the circular economy can be applied to sports furniture without giving up functionality, durability or certification. Each seat installed:
- Reduces CO₂ emissions by replacing virgin plastic with recycled ones.
- Removes plastic waste from the sea through the network of traditional fishermen with whom Gravity Wave works, also generating a new source of income for that community.
- Guarantees blockchain traceability of the material, from the port to the slipway.
- It reintroduces into the economy a waste that, under other conditions, would have continued to contaminate marine ecosystems for decades.
«Transforming waste into a useful, durable and visible solution is a direct way to raise awareness. Today, thousands of people sit on a material that yesterday polluted our oceans. This is just the beginning. » — FanBase Seating & Gravity Wave
At FanBase we invite sports clubs, town councils, sports facilities and event organizers to join this model. It’s not just about changing suppliers: it’s about turning each stand into an environmental speaker and demonstrating that the sports furniture sector can lead the change.
The world’s first stand seat made from recycled fishing nets sat in Villamarín. The next one can sit in your installation.
Shall we talk? Get to know SPARK ECO | info@fanbase.es | (+34) 659 743 310