After other public services were delegated, the management of the Palais Acropolis and the exhibition center will return to the municipality, which will manage them directly.
This will happen at the end of the year when the management contract entrusted to LG Events will expire contractually.
Several indicators hinted at this outcome: the just about satisfactory relationship between the City Hall and a concessionaire who, due to its international size, was a difficult service provider for a demanding client like the City of Nice and its mayor, who does not particularly appreciate rigid counterparts…, Christian Estrosi’s expressed desire to manage directly the activities in which the city is a stakeholder.
The precedents of school canteens and central kitchen, urban transport, water, parking, and others are examples that provide more than enough indication to understand the “in-house” strategy of the mayor of Nice, who speaks of an evaluation and decision-making “case by case.”
But since the decision always goes in the same direction, one should rather say… step by step!
In the short term, the aim is to go further in the marketing of this facility, which dates back to 1984 and for which the City has invested 20 million for renovation since 2006.
In the medium term, the business tourism and conference/exhibition activity will shift towards the future International Exhibition Park, which will be built on the current site of the MIN, which itself will move to la Baronne.
Given the impact of this sector on the local economy, this deadline requires the municipality to equip itself with a global policy, coordinated with all stakeholders in the industry.
The Mayor of Nice has announced the establishment of a steering committee composed of experts, intending to define a new comprehensive offer scheme to better compete with other territories that have gained an advantage.
In fact, while the future of the current Palais des Expositions is fairly predictable—it will become the much-needed Palais des Sports—the fate of the Palais Acropolis raises questions.
