At the LDLC Arena in Décines,
“We feel like we won the match three times today, and at the same time lost it. » Edwin Jackson’s slightly crazy analysis made sense on Thursday evening, after the cruel premiere of Asvel in its new setting for the Euroleague. Beaten 100-101 by Bayern Munich… after two overtimes, the Villeurbannais certainly squandered a 12-point lead at the start of the fourth quarter (63-51, 31st) but they may have found a new audience, price of a totally insane end to the match. Because moving from its usual Astroballe (5,560 seats) to join a brand new LDLC Arena (12,000 seats) is “a big challenge”, as the deputy president of Asvel Gaëtan Muller recognizes.
This attempt was a real success on Thursday, seeing this audience respond (11,354 spectators) and gain momentum throughout the evening, to literally explode in the final minutes of play, on a dunk by Joffrey Lauvergne in counterattack or on long shots from David Lighty, Timothé Luwawu-Cabarrot and Paris Lee. “We gave people joy,” continues Gaëtan Muller. We all had an exceptional evening, even if the end result inevitably stings. It’s the start of a new era. » That of regular prestigious Euroleague posters in “one of the most beautiful halls in the world” (dixit Tony Parker), where a host of shows and concerts will be held at the same time from next week (Florence Foresti, Lomepal, Sting, Eric Clapton …).
A pimped out “American show” with the Compagnie Créole
Many guests like Matt Pokora, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Wendie Renard, Anthony Lopes, Rayan Cherki, Fabio Grosso and of course Jean-Michel Aulas were keen to attend this inauguration with great fanfare of an LDLC Arena currently belonging to OL Group, despite John Textor’s intention to separate. In the mouths of many spectators of this Asvel-Bayern in Décines, a few steps from the Groupama Stadium, the expression “American show” came up most often to describe this evening.
Finally, an “American-style show” where you are thrown without batting an eyelid “And I meanwhile, I was turning the crank”, Gold or Ba minus en ti bo of the Creole Company. But by that we mean a fun “dance cam” and “kiss cam” package, but also the use of connected and remotely controlled bracelets to light up the room (nice result), or the undeniable contribution of the giant video cube. Slowed down the best actions igniting the room and the contentious game situations that the refereeing body must decide, everything goes through this “formidable tool”.
“Sometimes we didn’t get along on the floor”
“After having played in all the best venues in the world, I can promise you that you will not be disappointed with this video cube,” warned Asvel president Tony Parker in September. It is difficult to prove him wrong on this point or to doubt the quality of the “resonance-free” acoustics of this LDLC Arena, which gives great promise for the show version of the multifunction room, optimized by its U-shaped configuration which penalizes by against a bit of basketball rendering.
“Even if the public has always been present and loyal to the Astroballe, there is more noise here, in this very high-level infrastructure,” spontaneously recognizes the experienced Villeurbanne fullback Edwin Jackson (34 years old). It’s a real plus for us in the Euroleague and I hope that this noise will have an impact on both us and our opponents. » This was already the case on Thursday, according to Blues leader Sylvain Francisco, author of two huge three-point shots in the money-time to allow Bayern to win.
The enthusiasm was enormous. For the moment it is not at the level of what we can experience at Panathinaikos, Olympiakos or Partizan Belgrade [19.000 spectateurs en moyenne cette saison en Euroligue du côté du club serbe]. But sometimes, we didn’t agree on the floor this evening. We were forced to announce systems with our hands, to make signs to each other. »
” It’s urgent “
A decibel competition which has nothing to envy of basketball across the Atlantic, as Timothé Luwawu-Cabarrot confirms. “We became aware of the screams and noise during timeouts and on big shots scored,” explains the former Sixers, Nets and Hawks player. We see that this room was inspired by what is done in the United States. But in the NBA, the fans push much less than in Europe, where we deal with supporters, and especially today. »
It remains to be seen whether they will return for the next six basketball meetings in Décines in the next two months, or if it was a one shot linked to the excitement that accompanies the inauguration of the most modern French arena. “I want to believe that people will come back, even if we know that we will of course need results to bring them on board with us,” summarizes Gaëtan Muller. It’s up to us to truly launch our season. There is urgency but I refuse to say, in November, that the Euroleague season is dead. »
Asvel still has the dynamics of a red lantern in the Euroleague
With the 17th and penultimate record of the event (2 victories and 8 defeats), Asvel (deprived Thursday of injured Nando De Colo) is still up to that point in time for its disastrous 8 victories-26 defeats. from last season (18th). And we have to go back to January 26, 2023 to find any trace of a Villeurbanne success at home (91-77 against Fenerbahçe). This means that this LDLC Arena will have to quickly trigger a dynamic to prevent these supposed European shocks from soon no longer presenting the slightest sporting interest.
Two months ago, OL deputy general manager in charge of Groupama Stadium and the LDLC Arena Xavier Pierrot said: “We are not on the same product as at the Astroballe. We are working to make it a real spectacle, with the cube and the LEDs. The public will not only come to see a basketball game. You’re going to have an eyeful and an earful all evening.” So that the Asvel project becomes for good “more attractive” on the European scene, particularly in terms of recruitment, connected bracelets and punchlines of his delusional speaker will a priori be insufficient.