“The people of Nice are eagerly awaiting the arrival of the Grand Stadium, which will elevate the red and black club to the top ranks of the French league and allow them to compete in European competitions,” declared Deputy-Mayor, Christian Estrosi.
OGC Nice and the city aim to expedite the construction of this major sports facility with the goal of reducing the financial burden on the taxpayers of Nice by executing it through a partnership with the private sector.
A multifunctional stadium with 30 to 40,000 seats at the heart of an eco-district
The Commission of Tender Appeals, during its meeting on April 23, 2009, decided to assign this mission to the consortium PricewaterhouseCoopers (lead)/ TAJ Law Firm/ ISC (Sports and Cultural Engineering)/Xavier Lauzeral, Architecture and Urban Planning. This consortium will assist the city in all its procedures, starting from the market notification in May.
The selected consortium specializes in complex operations incorporating a Grand Stadium. It has been involved in the most significant European projects, such as New Wembley, Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium, London 2012 Olympic Stadium, and San Siro in Milan, as well as recent projects of Grand Stadiums in France, like those in Lyon, Lille, Grenoble, or Le Mans.
The future constructor must meet the following requirements in its project:
• Construct a stadium capable of hosting UEFA and FIFA competitions up to the quarter-finals or even semi-finals, as well as international matches,
• Choose the site of Saint-Isidore, at the heart of the Eco-Valley, to make it an example of integration and sustainable development, and incorporate this sports complex into a new city district,
• Establish supplementary facilities (museum, activities, shops, offices, restaurants…) that will bring life to the site outside of sporting events and thus create a real center of life,
• Ensure it is accessible by all modes of transport: by road (A8, RD 6202 and RD 6202bis), and also public transport (extension of the East-West tramway line, future High-Speed Train, international airport).
The timeline for the stadium’s completion
• May to October 2009: development of the program, including choices on capacity, level of multifunctionality, and the legal and financial structures (in the form of a Public Service Concession Agreement, a Public-Private Partnership Contract, or an Administrative Emphyteusis Lease),
• End of 2009 and 2010: consultation with companies,
• 2011 and 2012: construction of the Grand Stadium,
• Mid-2013: commissioning,
• 2013-2014: support for a duration of one year, from the date of receipt of the construction.
