LDLC Arena

Interior view, December 2023
Interactive map of LDLC Arena
Former names	OL Arena
Address	5 Avenue Simone Veil
Location	Décines-Charpieu,Metropolis of Lyon,France
Coordinates	45°46′07″N4°58′42″E / 45.76861°N 4.97833°E /45.76861; 4.97833
Public transit	Décines–OL Vallée Décines–OL Vallée[1]
Owner	OL Groupe
Capacity	Concerts: 16,000 Basketball: 12,523
Construction
Broke ground	January 2022; 4 years ago (2022-01)
Opened	November 23, 2023; 2 years ago (2023-11-23)
Construction cost	€141 million
Architect	Populous
Structural engineer	Vinci SA
Services engineer	Vinci SA
Tenants
LDLC ASVEL (LNB Pro A) (2023–present)
Website
Official website

TheOL Arena (known as theLDLC Arena for sponsorship reasons) is a multi-purposeindoor arena located inDécines-Charpieu in theMetropolis of Lyon,France. Owned byOL Groupe, the arena opened in November 2023 and is mainly used for sporting events and concerts. It is located near theParc Olympique Lyonnais stadium and training complex.

On 7 December 2018, theASVEL Lyon-Villeurbanne basketball club announced a multi-function arena project, which would notably hostLDLC ASVEL matches in theEuroLeague.^[2]

In February 2019,Jean-Michel Aulas, then-owner and president ofOlympique Lyonnais, announced plans to build a multi-purpose arena next to the stadium. It would become another part of the OL Vallée and would accommodate 10,000 to 15,000 people depending on the event. Aulas also stated that discussions were being held with ex-National Basketball Association playerTony Parker, owner of the ASVEL Lyon-Villeurbanne basketball club, about moving from theAstroballe to the new arena.^[3] In June 2019, Aulas and Parker entered into a partnership with OL taking a 25% minority stake in LDLC ASVEL andLDLC ASVEL Féminin, with ASVEL to play its EuroLeague home games in the new arena. The club would continue to play the remaining games in the Astroballe.^[4]

In mid-June 2021, ASVEL Lyon-Villeurbanne was accepted as a shareholder in the EuroLeague with a permanent right to participate with the A license.^[5] To do this, the club needed a venue that met the requirements of the EuroLeague for international games; the Astroballe had only 5,556 seats.

In July 2021, Olympique Lyon awarded the architectural firmPopulous and Citinea, a subsidiary of the French construction groupVinci SA, the contract to design and build the multi-purpose hall inDécines-Charpieu, acommune located in theMetropolis of Lyon,France. According to information at the time, the arena would offer 12,000 to 16,000 seats and would be the largest event hall outside of Paris, holding 80 to 120 events per year, such as concerts, sports andesports competitions, seminars, and trade fairs. The two companies were already involved in the design and construction of theGroupama Stadium, which opened in 2016. According to plans, construction with a planned cost of 141 million euros would begin at the end of 2021 and be completed two years later at the end of 2023.^[6][7] In mid-October of that year, theOlympique Lyonnais Groupe signed a multi-year contract withLive Nation Entertainment. The agreement began with construction starting in early 2022.^[8][9]

The name of the multi-purpose hall was presented at the beginning of December 2021. Groupe LDLC, owner of computer and technology stores and sponsor of ASVEL Lyon-Villeurbanne and thee-sports division of Olympique Lyon, would be the title sponsor of the event arena for eight years.^[9]

At the beginning of February 2022, the groundworks that began in January were completed and construction began.^[10] In May of that year, OL Groupe presented a financing plan for the construction of the hall. The group took over the entire financing. The project was supported by the subsidiary OL Vallée Arena. The planned costs of 141 million euros were to be financed through equity capital of 51 million euros and a real estate leasing of 90 million euros. The OL Vallée Arena signed a 15-year amortizing real estate lease agreement with a group of five banks, which provided for a residual value of 20 percent. The first seats in the new hall were presented in a ceremony on 6 September 2022.^[11][12]

The shell construction was completed in February 2023. This was followed by the roofing of the hall. It was scheduled to be closed by the end of March that year. The support structure weighs 1,200t and spans 70m. To achieve a bettercarbon footprint, the proportion of concrete was reduced by 25 percent compared to the original plan and low-carbon concrete was used. The opening was scheduled for December 15, 2023. LDLC ASVEL was scheduled to play 13 to 17 games in the arena annually.^[13]

As it became known at the end of September 2023, Olympique Lyon intended to give up partial or complete control of the arena. The American entrepreneurJohn Textor completed the purchase of Olympique Lyon in December 2022 through his holding companyEagle Football Holdings. OL Groupe had a net debt of 321 million euros at the end of 2022, according to its latest annual accounts, which showed a net loss in the first half of 60.7 million euros. Textor wanted to eliminate all debts not related to Groupama Stadium within two years. Olympique made the offer of 40% or full control of the LDLC Arena. In May 2023, the club sold a majority stake in theOlympique Lyonnais women's team to US businesswomanMichele Kang. OL Groupe was also exploring the sale ofOL Reign, a women's soccer franchise inTacoma from the USNational Women's Soccer League.^[14]

During a visit to the arena on 12 September 2023, by Xavier Pierrot, deputy general manager of the OL Groupe and responsible for the LDLC Arena, and Tony Parker, the first events in the new arena were announced. On 23 November 2023, the first basketball game was held in the arena, which ended in a 100–101 loss by LDLC ASVEL toFC Bayern Munich after two overtimes, as part of the tenth round of the2023–24 EuroLeagueregular season and was attended by 11,354 spectators.^[15] During the season, a total of eleven games are scheduled to be played in the LDLC Arena.^[16]

Comedian and actressFlorence Foresti also made her first appearance on stage on November 28. Music artistsSting andLomepal are scheduled to perform in December of that year. In 2024, more concerts by artists includingCalogero,Shaka Ponk,Patrick Bruel,Green Day andMichel Sardou are to follow. It will also host the touring musicalStarmania for 6 dates in October 2024.^[17] In 2025,ATEEZ became the first kpop group held solo concert at the venue for theirTowards The Light: Will To Power world tour ;Dua Lipa performed at the arena for 2 nights in May 2025 for herRadical Optimism Tour,Katy Perry performed herLifetimes Tour for 1 night in November, andLady Gaga performed herMayhem Ball for 2 nights in November as well.^[18]Doja Cat is performing at the arena in June 2026 for herTour Ma Vie World Tour.

Americanprofessional wrestling promotionWWE hosted two events at the arena: the first was a locallive broadcast of the television programFriday Night SmackDown on 3 May 2024, followed by thepay-per-view andlivestreaming event,Backlash France, a day later, which was broadcast live worldwide. This was the first time that an episode ofSmackDown and a WWE pay-per-view and livestreaming event were held in the country.^[20] WWE would return to the arena with the 29 August, 2025 episode ofSmackDown

• List of indoor arenas in France

Wikimedia Commons has media related toLDLC Arena.

• olvallee.fr:LDLC Arena(in French)
• ostadium.com:LDLC Arena(in French)

• 2023 establishments in France
• 21st-century architecture in France
• Basketball venues in France
• Buildings and structures in Lyon
• Indoor arenas in France
• Sports venues completed in 2023
• Sports venues in Lyon Metropolis
• Sports venues in Lyon
• Wrestling venues

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