The mayor of Nice loves sports and he shows it. By increasing the budget, subsidies, the number of sports associations receiving them, and the construction of complexes, Christian Estrosi definitively displays his ambitions: to make Nice a city resolutely turned towards sports. “It was an important commitment in my campaign, and it still is today. I intend to go further. Sport represents so many wonderful things,” he explains. The overall budget has increased by 35% in two years and has reached 28.2 million euros.
For the first time, the capital of the French Riviera will host “The Experts.” The Olympic champions, European champions, and recent winners of the World Handball Championship will face Portugal at the Acropolis Exhibition Hall for the penultimate qualifying match for Euro 2010. The game will take place on June 17, 2009. Four days later, the French men’s Volleyball team will also perform in Nice, against Serbia. These two events are added to the traditional Paris-Nice, Iron Man, figure skating, Deglane challenge (wrestling), and more.
7.2 million euros in subsidies
This year, 98 sports associations are subsidized compared to 83 in 2008. Fifteen new associations are receiving municipal aid for the first time. The subsidy budget amounts to 7.2 million euros. “We focus on small clubs that do a lot of local work in the neighborhoods,” explains the deputy mayor. In order to promote access to sports for young people from Nice aged 8 to 17, it was decided to fully or partially cover the cost of licenses in 2009 or for the 2009-2010 sports season. For those whose household is not subject to income tax, the license will be free. It will be reduced by 50% in other cases.
More and more sports facilities in the neighborhoods
The amount allocated for construction or renovations has increased from 5.7 to 12.2 million euros, a third of which comes from the state’s recovery plan. Synthetic fields, a skate park in Nice Nord, gymnasiums, swimming pools, and even athletics tracks, no less than 16 sports facilities in the city’s neighborhoods have been or will be renovated or created. Christian Estrosi is determined to develop local activities for all the values that sports convey and also wishes, in the future, for “young people to prefer practicing a sport rather than causing trouble in the city center.”
The former motorcycle racer relies on his policy of recruiting top-level athletes. Valérie Nicolas and Christophe Pinna intervene in schools. They are in charge of developing sports there and will soon be joined by Nastasia Noens. The 20-year-old slalom skier from Nice is participating in the World Ski Championships in Val d’Isère. This trio will be associated with the forty-five educators and “our big family will be at the service of sport in Nice,” concludes the mayor, who is, decidedly, crazy about sports.
