In the wake of the wedding between Asvel and OL in June 2019, the LDLC Arena was officially inaugurated this Thursday evening with a Euroleague match for Asvel against Bayern Munich (100-101). From the idyll to today, power games have diverted the spotlight, now focused on sport and entertainment, while waiting for the current owner (OL) to find a buyer…
For a long time, the casting of the inauguration kept those responsible for the protocol of this premiere evening busy. Who was going to cut the very symbolic ribbon of this multi-function hall (sports and shows), carried on the baptismal funds by OL, in the Jean Michel Aulas version, in line with a diversification of the OL Groupe’s income?
Because from the installation of the first chair in September 2022 to the first bounces of the orange ball on the floor, not only a short fifteen months have passed, but also a palace revolution in the heart of OL Vallée against a backdrop of disagreement and trial between the old (JMA) and the new (John Textor) boss of the club.
Consequence: no question for the US boss of OL to pose in this moment of eternity to the former strongman of OL Land! It will therefore be a group of VIPs, between officials, local elected officials, the boss of the company which bears the name (LDLC), the CEO of OL in charge of the room, who will supervise Gaëtan Muller, the boss of the Asvel and Tony Parker, the owner of the legendary old lady of French basketball (21 titles). “And to think that they only took care of the locker room plan, the rest is up to us…” breathes a major player in the LDLC Arena’s exit from the ground in record time (16 months) and in the face of contrary winds.
Aulas was discreet
It must be said that during the Covid period, if the plans of the room have time to be cogitated by ‘video’, the local political world changes with the arrival of elected environmentalists, reluctant to encourage sports business. But Jean-Michel Aulas and his lieutenants wet their shirts, got busy and obtained an unexpected building permit. And the support of the banks to bring about this project at 145 million euros, which, on D-day, because the power games have caused the epicenter to move, will never hear the name of the main architect nor cited, nor thanked. He will be discreet in a box on the 3rd floor, the OL box… OL players were also present. They were the subject of sometimes loud whistles in the first half during their appearances on the giant screen.
So goes the sport business between Rhône and Saône… Which, like everything else, has a horror of emptiness: then TP and its lifelong friend, its deputy president, Gaëtan Muller take the spotlight, cut the ribbon and evoke this “30-year dream, since we have known each other” (Muller): this first European match in a room designed for the Euroleague. A room worthy of the NBA with its giant after and its 12,000 seats, more than double the historic Astroballe in Villeurbanne (5,560 seats). A room, the second behind the Accor Arena in Paris, which could also host handball, tennis or even wrestling or even ice hockey in the long term; but a hall also worthy of the most modern performance halls in France with its retractable stands for a capacity of 16,000 seats for concerts, 120 events will be programmed.
Sting, Hoshi, Michel Sardou, Eric Clapton…
With many challenges, express modularity for example: “next December 13, we will have Sting and the next day, a Euroleague match from Asvel who will want to train from 10 a.m. in the morning,” explains Xavier Pierrot, the director deputy general of the room. Thirty people will work to move it from one format (concert) to another (basketball). For the catering part, it will be managed directly by OL, who have installed a huge kitchen in the enclosure to produce, with six people on permanent contracts (but 250 on match evenings), some 1,200 burgers and 2,500 sandwiches on site. , without forgetting the Lyon specialty, the praline tart. Objectives: short circuits (no more than 70 kilometers for the production of ingredients), ecology (heating is generated by geothermal energy), integration and inclusion which have far exceeded the initial promises.
Now delivered and inaugurated, the LDLC Arena will have to find a buyer since the American owner wishes to sell it. Tony Parker and associates are stepping up their calls, in a local political context that is dragging its feet in endorsing this project. Because even if the private enclosure can change hands without the approval of the President of the Metropolis, the latter has the means to curb some attempts by closing tram traffic and park and ride facilities, allowing the transport of spectators. But perhaps among the guests in the boxes this evening was another potential buyer. Indeed, it is rumored that ‘turners’, those who have an artist’s portfolio, would not be against investing in such a tool, an ideal extension of their activities…
In the meantime, Asvel delivered an epic encounter against Bayern Munich in this 10th day of the Euroleague. The Rhone lost after a double overtime at the end of a meeting with intense suspense at the end of the match (100-101).
Now for the shows: Florence Foresti will inaugurate it on November 28, before Sting, Lomepal, Michel Sardou, Hoshi, Eric Clapton, Shaka Ponk…