Saint-Ouen wants to take the ball for the Olympics. And for that, Mayor Karim Bouamrane asked for help from a specialist, Tony Parker, four-time NBA champion. The two men thus presented Tuesday evening the project of the Tony Parker Academy (TPA) which should see the light of day by 2024 and be established on Ile-des-Vannes, north of the town. Because the aging sports complex will indeed be renovated as part of the 2024 Olympic Games by Solideo, the Olympic works delivery company, to make it a training center which can then accommodate this famous project.
But why Saint-Ouen? Karim Bouamrane speaks of a “friendly love at first sight” with Tony Parker whom he met shortly after his election, in June 2020, “a real story of men” for the former basketball player. “We have a strong common history with shared values such as work, humility, generosity, and we wanted to give back to the Republic what it gave us”, develops the PS mayor. Tony Parker confirms his desire to “give back to new generations”. “Transmission is what drives me,” he says. And the choice of Saint-Ouen was made because, in addition to the support of the mayor, he found “the extraordinary site with the possibility of doing something there”. “This project is the quintessence of the republican ideal, it is a political project in the noble sense of the term”, gets carried away the mayor of Saint-Ouen.
Un Red Star Basket ?
Above all, it is above all a project to train future champions of the orange ball, but courses are also planned for paddle tennis and hip-hop. “The goal is to have a complementary academy with that of Lyon [ouverte en 2019], explains Tony Parker. But this academy will have its own identity and we will work to find links with a local club, complementary to Asvel, and why not Red Star in basketball. »
That’s for the athlete, but besides the TPA aims to support those who fail to become professionals. “At Insep, in terms of education, we went to a small high school next door, there was not much and nothing after 18, remembers Tony Parker. With the TPA, there is a follow-up with the possibility of finding a job afterwards. So in Lyon, he teamed up with the Adequat group, a specialist in professional integration, “to expose these young people to the world of business” and find them another outlet than sport. For Karim Bouamrane, the TPA must give life to its concept of “democratization of excellence” as well as “the hope for new generations to be architects of their own lives”. “The Academy will be accessible to everyone, the only entry criteria will be motivation and skills,” he promises, ruling out a selection by checkbook.
Now that the city council approved, on January 19, the establishment of TAP in Saint-Ouen, there is still a lot of work to do. “We still have to work on the technical, urban planning and financial aspects”, lists the city councilor. It will also be necessary to include the TPA in the renovation project and “encourage everyone’s support”.
The development of Ile-aux-Vannes, an 80 million euro project
Ile-aux-Vannes, with its Grande Nef from 1971, needed a serious paint job, especially since it has been closed to the public since 2018 due to its dilapidation. “Historically, it’s a place that made Seine-Saint-Denis shine, especially with concerts by Led Zeppelin or Bruce Springsteen, remembers Karim Bouamrane. And the renovation will restore its shine. In total, the rehabilitation of Ile-aux-Vannes will cost 80 million euros via a public-private partnership. Solidéo is putting 14 million on the table to renovate the Nave (12.5 million euros) and the athletics track. Finally, the TPA must provide 40 million euros for the development of the Nave and the academy.
