On Sunday, the city of Paris will inaugurate the Adidas Arena, the only new sports venue in Paris which will be used during the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Workshops for the general public and a basketball match are on the program for Sunday’s celebrations in a disadvantaged neighborhood in the north of the capital, six months before the launch of the Olympic Games.
The 20,000 square meter venue will host badminton, rhythmic gymnastics, para-badminton and para-weightlifting competitions.
It is one of the three flagship projects of the Games with the Olympic Village and the Aquatic Center, on the outskirts of the city, near the Stade de France.
The Arena would have been built “with or without the prospect of the Games”, wrote the daily Le Figaro this week, “but the timing guarantees considerable attention to the building”.
At the end of the Games, on August 11, the Arena will become the headquarters of the Paris Basketball club.
With a capacity of up to 9,000 people, it will also host concerts and local schoolchildren will be able to exercise in its two gymnasiums.
The municipal council hopes that the Arena will help reduce the bad reputation of the La Chapelle district in terms of trade and consumption of illicit drugs.
The construction of the Arena included the planting of trees and the creation of new pedestrian zones to strengthen the attractiveness of the Avenue de la Chapelle district. The building itself has a green roof and solar panels.
“It was urban chaos,” Mayor Anne Hidalgo told France Info radio. “It becomes something worthy of the residents of this neighborhood. »
“Avenue de la Chapelle must become as beautiful as the Champ de Mars or the Champs Elysées,” she declared.
Municipal authorities felt there was a need for a mid-sized venue in the French capital. Comparable venues, including the Accor Arena, are either much larger or much smaller.
A view shows the corridors inside the Adidas Arena, the only infrastructure built intramural for the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games to accommodate badminton, rhythmic gymnastics, para-badminton and para-weightlifting, before its inauguration at Porte de la Chapelle in Paris, France, January 25, 2024. REUTERS/Sarah Meyssonnier
“The two and a half year deadline was respected for the work that Paris absolutely needed,” declared Pierre Rabadan, deputy mayor of Paris in charge of the Olympic Games. Le Figaro.
The city council chose to name the Arena after sports equipment manufacturer Adidas in 2022. French media reported that the brand would transfer nearly 2.8 million euros per year to the city over five years. Around 80 percent of the 138 million euros in construction costs were paid by the city, according to Infos France.
The inauguration of the Arena is good news for the city as the dispute intensifies between Ms Hidalgo and Nasser Al Khelaifi, owner of football giant Paris Saint-Germain.
According to reports, Ms Hidalgo privately told Mr Al Khelaifi that PSG could buy the Parc des Princes, but she publicly said this would not be possible.
A council vote confirmed his position Tuesday. PSG says the purchase of the stadium is necessary for its expansion.
PSG supporters unveiled banners criticizing Ms Hidalgo during the Lille-PSG match on Saturday. They included messages such as “Hidalgo kills Paris and its magic,” according to the Huffington Post.
Speaking to France Info on Sunday, Mr Rabadan said: “We want the same thing as the supporters, we want PSG to stay at the Parc des Princes.”
“This is where the club was created, grew, made its history.”
“The dialogue must resume,” said Mr. Rabadan.
Updated: February 11, 2024, 1:55 p.m.
2024-02-11 14:42:28
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