Today is the day when the project, previously advocated by Christian Estrosi on other occasions, will be unveiled in its form. Thirty years after the epic era of the Racing Rugby Club of Nice, and after multiple attempts and just as many disappointments, will a new era open to allow Nice rugby to regain a place of prestige in French rugby?
At the end of this season, Stade Niçois has just been promoted to Fédérale 2, and this promotion was the prerequisite for a multi-year plan with the objective of reaching Pro D2.
But sporting success in modern times often rhymes with financial means.
The municipality of Nice is certainly generous towards the club with an annual subsidy of 470,000 euros, as well as the facilities at Arboras stadium, certainly one of the largest in Fédérale 3 and the higher categories.
However, the budgets of ambitious clubs in F2, and even more so in F1, approach figures that often exceed 2 million euros. Not to mention Pro D2, the ultimate goal of this project, a championship for which budgets approach at least 5 million euros.
Hence, the absolute necessity for investors who, in rugby as in all sports disciplines in Nice, are not legion, quite the opposite.
Moreover, a look at the financial statements of so-called elite clubs reveals that equity is quite minimal, and the true sponsor is none other than the city.
Returning to the oval project, the investment, to be in line with the stated ambition, should be around 2 million per year for three or four years.
Therefore, the credit for financing this project goes to Christian Estrosi, thanks to his action and the interest he shows in the only sports discipline capable of utilizing the Allianz Riviera, which otherwise, with the OGCN football matches and a few international “pearls”, risks falling into the category of cathedrals in the desert.
Moreover, rumors suggest that the new investor in Nice rugby is not unfamiliar with this venue, even though in rugby terms, bounces are known to be capricious and sometimes unpredictable.
