French Ligue 2 football club Nîmes Olympique has unveiled its plans for a major project that would encompass a new stadium, arena and eco-district.
First thought up in 2017 and initially presented back in July 2019, the urban planning project has been drawn up by one of France’s leading architects – Valode & Pistre. It includes the creation of a new 15,000-capacity stadium and a new district, on the exact right of way of the Stade des Costières, Nîmes’ home since 1989 which will be demolished to make way for the new development.
The purpose of this side of the project is to develop the financial resources of the club and it will be undertaken by SAS NEMAU, an entity formed by Nîmes president Rani Assaf. Nîmes Olympique will benefit from a long-term and secure commercial lease that will not increase its stadium operating expenses, while it is hoped its income from the venue will be substantially improved through better public offerings and daily use of spaces outside of matchdays.
The stadium and new district projects are entirely private projects, and therefore do not require public money. Indeed, the project’s backers claim the “soft densification” allowed by the stadium’s right-of-way will make it possible to finance the entire operation without affecting the club’s own funds, or calling for public subsidies.
At the same time, the City of Nîmes is carrying out a project to create a new sports arena, which is currently lacking in the local region, intended to house various sports in the city. The arena is seen as a necessity for the decommissioning of the Costières, with SAS NEMAU and the City of Nîmes to organise a public consultation on the project, which will run from September 21 to October 20.
“We started discussions with the city during the 2017-18 season to see how we could go about it and what we could do about it,” Assaf said at a presentation yesterday (Wednesday), according to French newspaper Midi Libre.
The overall cost of the project is expected to be around €250m (£213.1m/$293.9m), with Assaf hoping that provisional work on the stadium can commence in November ahead of a targeted completion in 2026.
Nîmes Olympique was relegated from Ligue 1 at the end of the 2020-21 season.
Images: Nîmes Olympique
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