By Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net
The president of Olympique Lyonnais Jean-Michel Aulas and Tony Parker (LDLC ASVEL and Lyon ASVEL women president) announced in a joint press conference the acquisition of a minority stake from OL at the ownership of LDLC ASVEL and Lyon ASVEL Women.
It’s a strategic agreement that will allow Olympique Lyonnais to benefit from the international image and reputation of Tony Parker, particularly in the US and China, territories where OL Group intends to grow as a brand. This agreement also provides for synergies between the two clubs, particularly on ticketing, sponsoring, seminars and more general commercial activities.
All LDLC ASVEL matches will be played at the Astroballe until the opening of the future arena of OL Group, and eventually, all the Jeep Elite league games and some EuroLeague games will continue to be held in Villeurbanne. On the other hand, LDLC ASVEL should play the more prestigious matches of Euroleague in the future arena of OL Group when it will be operational.
The new arena at Olympique Lyonnais will complement OL City’s existing and future infrastructure, which includes Groupama Stadium (opened on January 9, 2016), the Kopster Hotel (opened October 1, 2018), OL the museum (inaugurated on May 28, 2018), the medical center (opening planned mid-July 2019), the office building “Les Loges” (opening planned October 2019), and the leisure center (opening forecast autumn 2020).
The arena will accommodate concerts (15 to 16,000 people), sports events (12,000 people) and large-scale seminars (3,000 people). “The creation project was born out of simple observation and the need for the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Region, to create a new event room capable of organizing shows and major events. This new arena will be able to accommodate 15 to 16,000 people, which will make it the largest event hall in France outside Paris”, said Jean Michel Aulas.
Olympique Lyonnais paid 3,4 million euros in order to buy a minority stake of ASVEL’s ownership, which is 25%. They also paid 300.000 euros for a 10% stake in the women’s club ownership.
“I am proud to be associated with Olympique Lyonnais”, said Tony Parker. “It’s a historic day for the club and this is just the beginning. We are going to be live big moments together”.
Nicolas Batum, who is the director of basketball operations, added: “We are having an exceptional season which we hope that will end with ASVEL winning the French league championship title. This partnership permits us in the future to achieve our goals, staying on the top levels of the standings with both clubs and have a good showing in the EuroLeague”.
Photo credit: OL