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LDLC Arena

Coordinates: 45°46′07″N 4°58′42″E / 45.76861°N 4.97833°E / 45.76861; 4.97833
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LDLC Arena
Interior view, December 2023
Map
Former namesOL Arena
Address5 Avenue Simone Veil
LocationDécines-Charpieu, Metropolis of Lyon, France
Coordinates45°46′07″N 4°58′42″E / 45.76861°N 4.97833°E / 45.76861; 4.97833
Public transitLyon tramway Lyon tramway#Line T7 Décines–OL Vallée
Décines–OL Vallée[1]
OwnerOL Groupe
CapacityConcerts: 16,000
Basketball: 12,523
Construction
Broke groundJanuary 2022; 2 years ago (2022-01)
OpenedNovember 23, 2023; 12 months ago (2023-11-23)
Construction cost€141 million
ArchitectPopulous
Structural engineerVinci SA
Services engineerVinci SA
Tenants
LDLC ASVEL (LNB Pro A) (2023–present)
Website
Official website

The OL Arena (known as the LDLC Arena for sponsorship reasons) is a multi-purpose indoor arena located in Décines-Charpieu in the Metropolis of Lyon, France. Owned by OL Groupe, the arena opened in November 2023 and is mainly used for sporting events and concerts. It is located near the Parc Olympique Lyonnais stadium and training complex.

History

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Planning and construction

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On 7 December 2018, the ASVEL Lyon-Villeurbanne basketball club announced a multi-function arena project, which would notably host LDLC ASVEL matches in the EuroLeague.[2]

In February 2019, Jean-Michel Aulas, then-owner and president of Olympique Lyonnais, announced plans to build a multi-purpose arena next to the stadium. It would become another part of the OL Vallée and would accommodate 10,000 to 15,000 people depending on the event. Aulas also stated that discussions were being held with ex-National Basketball Association player Tony Parker, owner of the ASVEL Lyon-Villeurbanne basketball club, about moving from the Astroballe to the new arena.[3] In June 2019, Aulas and Parker entered into a partnership with OL taking a 25% minority stake in LDLC ASVEL and LDLC ASVEL Féminin, with ASVEL to play its EuroLeague home games in the new arena. The club would continue to play the remaining games in the Astroballe.[4]

In mid-June 2021, ASVEL Lyon-Villeurbanne was accepted as a shareholder in the EuroLeague with a permanent right to participate with the A license.[5] To do this, the club needed a venue that met the requirements of the EuroLeague for international games; the Astroballe had only 5,556 seats.

The arena under construction in January 2023.

In July 2021, Olympique Lyon awarded the architectural firm Populous and Citinea, a subsidiary of the French construction group Vinci SA, the contract to design and build the multi-purpose hall in Décines-Charpieu, a commune located in the Metropolis of Lyon, France. According to information at the time, the arena would offer 12,000 to 16,000 seats and would be the largest event hall outside of Paris, holding 80 to 120 events per year, such as concerts, sports and esports competitions, seminars, and trade fairs. The two companies were already involved in the design and construction of the Groupama Stadium, which opened in 2016. According to plans, construction with a planned cost of 141 million euros would begin at the end of 2021 and be completed two years later at the end of 2023.[6][7] In mid-October of that year, the Olympique Lyonnais Groupe signed a multi-year contract with Live Nation Entertainment. The agreement began with construction starting in early 2022.[8][9]

The name of the multi-purpose hall was presented at the beginning of December 2021. Groupe LDLC, owner of computer and technology stores and sponsor of ASVEL Lyon-Villeurbanne and the e-sports division of Olympique Lyon, would be the title sponsor of the event arena for eight years.[9]

At the beginning of February 2022, the groundworks that began in January were completed and construction began.[10] In May of that year, OL Groupe presented a financing plan for the construction of the hall. The group took over the entire financing. The project was supported by the subsidiary OL Vallée Arena. The planned costs of 141 million euros were to be financed through equity capital of 51 million euros and a real estate leasing of 90 million euros. The OL Vallée Arena signed a 15-year amortizing real estate lease agreement with a group of five banks, which provided for a residual value of 20 percent. The first seats in the new hall were presented in a ceremony on 6 September 2022.[11][12]

The shell construction was completed in February 2023. This was followed by the roofing of the hall. It was scheduled to be closed by the end of March that year. The support structure weighs 1,200t and spans 70m. To achieve a better carbon footprint, the proportion of concrete was reduced by 25 percent compared to the original plan and low-carbon concrete was used. The opening was scheduled for December 15, 2023. LDLC ASVEL was scheduled to play 13 to 17 games in the arena annually.[13]

LDLC Arena, Juillet 2024, Equipe de France

As it became known at the end of September 2023, Olympique Lyon intended to give up partial or complete control of the arena. The American entrepreneur John Textor completed the purchase of Olympique Lyon in December 2022 through his holding company Eagle Football Holdings. OL Groupe had a net debt of 321 million euros at the end of 2022, according to its latest annual accounts, which showed a net loss in the first half of 60.7 million euros. Textor wanted to eliminate all debts not related to Groupama Stadium within two years. Olympique made the offer of 40% or full control of the LDLC Arena. In May 2023, the club sold a majority stake in the Olympique Lyonnais women's team to US businesswoman Michele Kang. OL Groupe was also exploring the sale of OL Reign, a women's soccer franchise in Tacoma from the US National Women's Soccer League.[14]

Events

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During a visit to the arena on 12 September 2023, by Xavier Pierrot, deputy general manager of the OL Groupe and responsible for the LDLC Arena, and Tony Parker, the first events in the new arena were announced. On 23 November 2023, the first basketball game was held in the arena, which ended in a 100–101 loss by LDLC ASVEL to FC Bayern Munich after two overtimes, as part of the tenth round of the 2023–24 EuroLeague regular season and was attended by 11,354 spectators.[15] During the season, a total of eleven games are scheduled to be played in the LDLC Arena.[16]

Concerts and shows

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Comedian and actress Florence Foresti also made her first appearance on stage on November 28. Music artists Sting and Lomepal are scheduled to perform in December of that year. In 2024, more concerts by artists including Calogero, Shaka Ponk, Patrick Bruel, Green Day and Michel Sardou are to follow. It will also host the touring musical Starmania for 6 dates in October 2024.[17]

Professional wrestling

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American professional wrestling promotion WWE hosted two events at the arena: the first was a local live broadcast of the television program Friday Night SmackDown on 3 May 2024, followed by the pay-per-view and livestreaming event, Backlash France, a day later, which was broadcast live worldwide. This was the first time that an episode of SmackDown and a WWE pay-per-view and livestreaming event were held in the country.[18]

Sports events

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Date Event Type of event Attendants
3 SmackDown[19] Professional wrestling
4 WWE Backlash France[19] 11628
11 France vs. United States[20] Handball

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Accès - OL Vallée". olvallee.fr (in French). Retrieved December 11, 2023.
  2. ^ "Projet de Salle Multifonction de l'Olympique Lyonnais". December 7, 2018. Retrieved November 17, 2023.
  3. ^ "Olympique Lyonnais reveals arena plans". thestadiumbusiness.com. February 15, 2019. Retrieved November 18, 2023.
  4. ^ "Tony Parker, Jean-Michel Aulas sign partnership agreement". ol.fr-Olympique Lyon. June 22, 2019. Retrieved November 18, 2023.
  5. ^ "ECA Shareholders Executive Board meets in Barcelona". mediacentre.euroleague.net-EuroLeague. June 18, 2021. Retrieved November 18, 2023.
  6. ^ "Populous, Citinea set to develop Lyon's new arena". thestadiumbusiness.com. July 23, 2021. Retrieved November 18, 2023.
  7. ^ Anthony Faure (January 14, 2021). "Métropole de Lyon: une Arena de 16 000 places à Décines en 2023, tout ce qu'il faut savoir sur le projet de l'OL". lyoncapitale.fr (in French). Retrieved November 18, 2023.
  8. ^ Genevieve Lewis (October 18, 2021). "Olympique Lyonnais signs with Live Nation ahead of new arena". thestadiumbusiness.com. Retrieved November 18, 2023.
  9. ^ a b Richard Mulligan (December 7, 2021). "New Lyon venue to be named LDLC Arena". thestadiumbusiness.com. Retrieved November 18, 2023.
  10. ^ "LDLC Arena: suivez le chantier en temps réel". olvallee.fr-OL Vallée (in French). February 3, 2022. Retrieved November 18, 2023.
  11. ^ Bradley Rial (May 3, 2022). "OL Groupe to invest €141m in LDLC Arena project". thestadiumbusiness.com. Retrieved November 18, 2023.
  12. ^ "LDLC Arena se présente comme "la future plus grande salle événementielle de la région"". tonicradio.fr-Tonic Radio (in French). September 6, 2022. Retrieved November 18, 2023.
  13. ^ Tony Fonteneau (January 20, 2023). "LDLC Arena: les travaux de gros œuvre se terminent, inauguration prévue en décembre". journal-du-btp.com (in French). Retrieved November 18, 2023.
  14. ^ Rob Ridley (September 27, 2023). "Olympique Lyonnais weighing up sale of LDLC Arena". thestadiumbusiness.com. Retrieved November 18, 2023.
  15. ^ "ASVEL's LDLC Arena served up an unforgettable opening night | EuroLeague". Euroleague Basketball. November 24, 2023. Retrieved November 25, 2023.
  16. ^ "LDLC Arena : une programmation 2023/2024 très fournie avec 11 matchs d'Euroleague de LDLC ASVEL et des spectacles musicaux". September 12, 2023. Retrieved November 25, 2023.
  17. ^ "LDLC Arena: une programmation 2023/2024 très fournie avec 11 matchs d'Euroleague de LDLC ASVEL et des spectacles musicaux". olvallee.fr-OL Vallée (in French). September 12, 2023. Retrieved November 18, 2023.
  18. ^ Lambert, Jeremy (November 16, 2023). "WWE Backlash France To Take Place In France On May 4, 2024". Fightful. Retrieved November 16, 2023.
  19. ^ a b "WWE - Backlash & Smackdown • 2024". OL Vallée. Retrieved November 16, 2023..
  20. ^ "France - USA • 2024". OL Vallée. Retrieved March 21, 2024..
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