Located in the Parc des Princes, the National Sports Museum has been closed to the public since the 1998 World Cup. It consists of over 100,000 items exhibited since 1988. Currently, 350 of them can be viewed at the State Secretariat for Sports in Paris. For Bernard Laporte, this resembles a slight to French sports.
He himself proposed to Christian Estrosi the relocation of this significant collection to Nice. โI immediately accepted this beautiful project,โ comments the deputy mayor before the former coach of the France rugby team added: โIt was natural that I talk to him about it. We are both great sports enthusiasts and Nice is a city of sport.โ
If the project becomes a reality, the individual who has often brought the national anthem to resonate on international podiums would donate several items from his collection. โI still own the Yamaha 750 with which I defeated Giacomo Agostini, then undefeated, at the 1977 French Grand Prix in Dijon,โ proudly declares the former motorcyclist. “Like my helmets and suits, I would gladly bequeath it to the Museum.”
A National City of Sports
The museum is part of a desire to create a National City of Sports in order to promote sport and all the values it cultivates. The characteristics of the Azurean capital match those sought by the minister. Nice is a major tourist city whose mayor seeks to develop sports practice there.
The Museum (5000 square meters) and the City would be located in the Grand Stadium project. Two concepts are envisaged: a covered city and another open one integrated into a park where restaurants and other shops would be found. Following bids for the Euro 2016 and the 2018 Olympics, this is another step forward in the development of sports in Nice.
Other cities would like to host the museum, but Nice seems well positioned if we rely on the words of Bernard Laporte. “The project is ambitious. Nice wants to uphold the values of sport and of France. As we say around here, it smells good!”