The Paris 2024 Board of Directors is meeting this Tuesday, July 12, in particular to validate the proposal for a new version of the site map which will be made to the IOC. With basketball in Lille, even if the discussions are not over.
Why does basketball end up “homeless”?
Long planned in full at the Accor Arena, basketball split into two (preliminaries in Hall 6 at Porte de Versailles; finals at Bercy) in June 2018, when the temporary swimming pool moved to the Paris Défense Arena. , forcing gymnastics to settle in Bercy. It was also on this date that handball was sent to Lille to make way for volleyball in Hall 1 at Porte de Versailles (its site at Le Bourget, in Seine-Saint-Denis, having been wiped off the map) . Paris 2024 had thought about the possibility of organizing the three indoor team sports tournaments in the capital, even imagining setting up one at Roland-Garros. Before realizing it.
The Pierre-Mauroy stadium in Lille has opened. Basketball refused to go there, unlike handball. Then came the time for the first visits to the sites, in particular that of the International Basketball Federation (Fiba) in Hall 6. An agreement in principle was given, subject to feasibility studies concerning air conditioning and lighting. These studies were delayed, Fiba got annoyed. At the end of 2021, it evokes a plan B. In March 2022, while certain French players are stepping up to the plate, Paris 2024 abandons Hall 6.
Where we are ?
The idea of sending part of basketball to Lille (and therefore repatriating the group stage of handball to Hall 6 at Porte de Versailles) arrived at the beginning of April, while other cities (Lyon, Reims, Orléans) had applied. Paris 2024 took tweezers to try to convince Fiba to go north. Unsuccessful so far. Fiba wants to stay in Paris and is eyeing the Arena La Chapelle, a basketball hall which during the Olympics is intended for badminton.
An option that refuses to validate the Cojo, advancing the technical constraints of badminton (the height of the ceiling, in particular). Paris 2024 highlights other balances: financial (the gauge in Lille would allow it to limit the financial losses of these changes via ticketing), the general balance of the Games (by offering the possibility for handball to also play in Paris) . The problem is that Fiba refuses to give in, asks for studies concerning the movements of the players, the temperature of the Mauroy stadium (the Cojo affirms that even in the event of a heat wave, it is perfectly playable) or the air conditioning. She maintains her desire to evolve in Paris.
What about the Villepinte site?
By sending boxing to a new site in Villepinte (Hall 8), the Cojo has opened Pandora’s box. Since there are several halls, why not study the possibility of organizing other sports there? The IOC and Fiba demand it. Paris 2024 closes the door, considering that Hall 4 is too small and maintains that Lille is “the best option”, the only one to limit the financial impact.
As for the general atmosphere, fearing the Parisian route will close, handball stepped up to the plate this weekend, asking that the handball-basketball switch take place. “Without an exchange, it will not be possible to bring handball back to Paris”, specifies the Cojo. “We understand that Fiba needs answers to understand why we are sending them to Lille. The question is also what is the best solution in the interest of Paris 2024? In the end, the IOC will decide. The validation of the CA of the choice to propose Lille as a basketball site may however be interpreted as a forced passage.
