At first glance it is a stadium covered with asphalt, with lines erased by time and rusty gates. But for the young people who come to train there almost every day, this Eucalyptus stadium is much more than that. “It’s a sacred place. We have lots of memories here. It’s inhumane to take it away from us”, says one of them, a student in second at the high school just opposite. “It shows that we are in a consumer society where we prefer futile things”launches one of her comrades in a bitter tone.
The promise of a rooftop stadium
So we asked the manager of the future Clément Bourassin store for an explanation. “We are not removing this stadium. We are redoing new basketball courts, handball courts and an athletics track on the roof of the store. This is a project that responds to the general interest. We are providing 250 parking for residents, accessible free of charge during the day”. In fact Clément Bourassin is the manager of the current super U store located 400 meters from the stadium. This project in fact also allows it to grow, to increase from 700 square meters of commercial surface to 2000. In all the building will be 5000 square meters. “We are not going to make 10,000 like the centers of the plain of Var. It is to develop a local trade. To avoid people taking their car to go shopping in the plain of Var”he explains.
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A petition and social media accounts
“It’s completely anachronistic as a project. Today we don’t need additional stores, we need green spaces, well-being”, says Romain, a local resident. He is the one who launched a petition a few days ago.
But the project dates back much longer: from 2014. A deed of sale for the land has been signed: 3 million euros should arrive in the coffers of the town hall to which the stadium belongs. The building permit is also displayed on the stadium fences. “It’s coming out now because we are two weeks away from the legislative elections”, says Pascal Condometti. This deputy mayor of Nice is in charge of the territories of the hills of Nice, but he is also a substitute for the outgoing deputy Marine Brenier, the outgoing deputy LAREM who is standing in the legislative elections. The Twitter account “Eucalyptus Stadium” founded by Romain is indeed mainly followed by journalists, activists or political figures, including the candidate in this fifth constituency, Christelle d’Intorni. Romain claims to be a simple citizen.