LDLC Arena project was seven years in the planning, but according to LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne deputy president Gaetan Muller, the dream was launched long before that.
Opening night at LDLC Arena: ‘A dream that came true’
Seasons
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“There is no word to describe how I feel. I was talking to Tony [Parker] this morning and I’m like, ‘Do you remember? We were 13 years old when we started dreaming about having a team, a gym, not even an arena, a gym. And now it's happened,” Muller, a childhood friend of club president Tony Parker, said on opening day. “It’s a dream that came true.”
The sparkling new facility opened its doors to the public for the first time in Round 10 when ASVEL hosted FC Bayern Munich and destiny cooperated as the product on the floor was one of the most compelling games of the season, a double-overtime thriller in which both teams scored 100 points.
“This is a big opportunity for all of us who are involved. For the fans, for the city, for the EuroLeague. It’s an amazing gym and this is the first day of the future,” ASVEL head coach Gianmarco Pozzecco said that day.
The excitement surrounding LDLC Arena is more than just the spectacle that surrounded the first game. It is at the cornerstone of the project to turn ASVEL into a perennial contender.
“Every game in EuroLeague is super hard. It means everything is about details,” Muller summed up. “With the new arena, with the crowd, with everybody who is gonna be on fire, for me, it’s like the X-factor what we are doing now and I hope it’s gonna help us reach the sky.”