The future Sports Palace of the Urban Community, with a capacity of 4,200 seats, will be built next to the current one. Expected delivery in 2022. Aristide Olivier, vice president of Caen-la-Mer in charge of sports, details the project for Ouest-France.
Why the choice of Caen?
"After presentation in conference of the mayors and sports commission of the Agglomeration, it is the current site of the Palace of the sports which was retained because it is the
the most economically reasonable choice.
The records of Ifs, Colombelles, Bretteville-sur-Odon or Fleury-sur-Orne had advantages, but with the site of Caen we have costs that fade, such as the creation of an annex room, essential in this area. type of equipment.
It saves the order of 9 million euros on this lever. An economy in terms of parking, although it will obviously create new places in an area that needs it. We will use the current Sports Palace for the training of our teams.
The will of the president-mayor was that this project is agglomeration, not necessarily on Caen. But you have to be lucid and look at the cost differences. We had the alternative of keeping this project out of Caen, knowing that in the coming years it would have encumbered the budget capacity of the Urban Community.
By setting up in Caen, this will also allow Agglo to consider other equipment projects than this one. This was not necessarily the place we wanted at first, but it is the one that imposes itself. We must salute the reaction of the mayors. They are obviously disappointed but have understood, I believe, the fact that one had to be reasonable in terms of investment.
Remedies, it can exist on all projects. We will not transform the space, there will be just another room, which will not disfigure the landscape. "
What capacity, what configuration?
"We will be between 4,200 and 4,400 seats, consistent with the potential of the clubs and the territory.The challenge is not the hosting of major events, it is to have a suitable tool for clubs, local and regional events.
It will be a Sports Palace, not an Arena equipped structurally to host concerts. It would be stupid to compete with the Zenith, which works very well, with a nearby room.
It will have to be flexible: both in the practice area to accommodate the maximum of disciplines, except cycling and horse riding, and the reception of the public.
We want to make it a cauldron, be it a room that breathes sport, even if there are only 2000 people on this or that event. There are several possibilities: the creation of two rings, with a floor that can be closed, or curtain systems that hide part of the room. The architects will propose solutions.
The objective is to favor the qualitative to the quantitative: one prefers slightly decrease the gauge to put the package on the reception of the public, in term of comfort, access refreshments, on the aspect hospitality for the economic partners. It will be necessary that people are close to the field.
Being on two floors might allow for greater closeness to the public. In the choice of colors, materials, lighting, it will not be missed. The clubs will be associated. "
What price, what date?
"The financial envelope that will be submitted to the vote of the community assembly in early 2019 will be 35 million euros. The specifications will be written by the beginning of 2019, then we will know in the second half of 2019 what this room will look like, after the tender to the architects in particular.
We hope for a start of work in early 2020, for delivery early in the 2022-2023 season. "
What about access and parking?
"Room access problems, no matter where, exist, unlike other sports venues in the area, like the Ornano Stadium, we have a fairly good output at the current Sports Hall. leads to areas that allow the area to be emptied rather quickly.Before seeing this place as a constraint, it should be considered as an opportunity to create a synergy with the Exhibition Center and the Zenith.
The problem of parking is real, but it already exists today. This question was already on the table as part of the development Parc des Expositions - Zenith. It will be treated by the city of Caen. It will necessarily be necessary to create places. How many ? It remains to be determined. For a room with 4,200 seats, 1,500 seats would be needed. One of the hypotheses envisaged is the creation of a parking silo (with several floors).
Obviously, all periods of work involve constraints. To say that it will not be more complicated during this period would be lying. We will make it as fluid as possible. Will there be other routes to the future Sports Palace? We will look at all the possibilities to improve the fluidity of the site. "