Paris unveils Adidas Arena six months before start of Olympics

Paris has unveiled the Adidas Arena, the only new venue in the inner part of the city that will be used during the 2024 Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Workshops for the public and a basketball match took place as part of the opening yesterday, six months before the Olympics begin.

The 20,000 square metre venue in a deprived neighbourhood north of the capital will host badminton, rhythmic gymnastics, para-badminton and para-weightlifting competitions.

It is one of three flagship projects along with the Olympic Village and the Aquatics Centre, just outside the city near the Stade de France.

When the Olympics end on August 11, the arena will become the headquarters of the Paris Basketball club.

With a capacity of 9,000 people, it will also host concerts and local schoolchildren will be able to exercise in its two gymnasiums.

The city council hopes it will help shed La Chapelle neighbourhood’s poor reputation for trade and consumption of illicit drugs.

Construction included the planting of trees and new pedestrian areas. The building itself has a green roof and solar panels.

“It was urban chaos,” mayor Anne Hidalgo told the France Info radio network, speaking about the area before the construction.

“It’s becoming something worthy of the inhabitants of this neighbourhood.”

“The Avenue de la Chapelle must become as beautiful as the Champ de Mars or the Champs Elysees.”

City officials felt there was a need for a mid-size venue in the French capital.

Other venues, such as the Accor Arena, are either much larger or much smaller.

“The two-and-a-half-year deadline was met for construction work that Paris absolutely needed,” Pierre Rabadan, deputy mayor of Paris in charge of the Olympic Games, told Le Figaro.

The city council chose to name the Arena after sports outfitter Adidas in 2022. French media reported that the brand will pay €2.8 million ($3 million) a year to the city over five years.

The city paid for 80 per cent of the €138 million in construction costs.

The inauguration of the Arena is welcome news for the city as a dispute deepens between Ms Hidalgo and Nasser Al Khelaifi, owner of football giants Paris Saint-Germain.

Reports allege Ms Hidalgo had privately told Mr Al Khelaifi that PSG would be able to buy Parc des Princes, another stadium in the capital, but she has publicly said this would not be possible.

A council vote confirmed her position on Tuesday. PSG claim that purchasing the stadium is necessary for its expansion.