In Orléans, new 4-in-1 equipment is causing a stir

The project is no longer the one that had been imagined in 2008. At that time, the mayor of Orléans Serge Grouard had plans to build an arena, on the south bank of the Loire, in place of the industrial building occupied previously by the pharmaceutical factory Famar. Project whose procedure had been launched, whose contract had been awarded, before being abandoned in 2014, the State having removed its subsidy and the building finally classified.

But there is no question of totally abandoning the idea of ​​building a new facility, capable of hosting sporting events, particularly on a national or even international scale, one hour from Paris, such as the Orléans Tennis Open for to cite just one example, but also regional, to contribute to the influence and attractiveness of the capital of the Centre-Val de Loire region. Because the exhibition center is no longer young: built in the 1960s, the building is in such a state that at least a major renovation was necessary, if not a reconstruction.

It was then that Serge Grouard, then his successor Olivier Carré, carried out a new, more complete project: “we then changed our tune and set off on a three-in-one equipment instead of the old exhibition center. Or even four-in-one because the Zénith, located right next door, is an integral part of the new project”, explains Charles-Eric Lemaignen, vice-president of Orléans Métropole, in charge of major facilities. This project is the Co’Met (for Center Orléans Métropole). The complex is now fully operational, since the inauguration on January 7, 2023 of the arena with a match of the French handball team.

Discover the site of this equipment, which is unique in France, in images in the rest of the article.