A second Tony Parker Academy will open in Saint-Ouen, after that of Lyon in 2019. It should welcome young people from 2025, on the Île-des-Vannes site, currently under renovation, because its sports complex will be training center during the Paris Olympic Games in 2024. Tony Parker was in Saint-Ouen on January 25 to present his Academy project alongside the mayor, Karim Bouamrane.
Training in basketball, paddle tennis, and art.
The Tony Parker Academy is designed as a training center for future dribbling stars. But the project goes well beyond traditional basketball: training in 3-3 basketball and paddle tennis will also be offered, and a culture center will be created, with a new concert hall fitted out in the Nave, which can accommodate up to to 5,000 people. There will also be music training.
“Give back to my country and to the next generation”
Since he stopped his professional career, Tony Parker has devoted himself to training young people to make them professional basketball players. “Transmission, since I retired from sport, is what drives me on a daily basis, he says. Giving back to my country and to the next generation.“
However, he knows that only 5% of young people, barely, will be able to make a living from basketball… The Academy therefore trains on the field but also for professional life. Leaving, “young people have a job“, specifies Tony Parker.
It’s good to take care of the elite, but for me it’s also important to take care of the 95% [restants].
“So the goal is to accompany them to the end, in sport or education”, he details.
“The price will not be an obstacle”
A year at the Tony Parker Academy in Lyon still costs around 25,000 euros a year. But the basketball player assures him, only performance counts, the financial aspect will not be a hindrance for young people. A scholarship system should be put in place. “The first criterion is that you are good“, he reiterates.
He mentions possible partnerships with clubs in Seine-Saint-Denis, such as Red Star. Within the club, Axel plays as a cadet. He’s already 15, but that would be a “great opportunity“for him to be able to go back there.”I really intend to become pro, I train a lot a lot to become it, and I would like that to come true“.
“For Saint-Ouen, we are marking the history of a whole generation“, declares Karim Bouamrane, the mayor of Saint Ouen.
Obviously I am moved, but above all I am proud.
Revitalize Île-des-Vannes
The site will be open to Audonians and will also host concerts, “of entertainment“, quotes Karim Bouamrane. According to him, the campus will help bring life back to Vannes Island.
The island of Vannes is 7 hectares. In addition to a place of democratization of sporting, educational and cultural excellence, it will be a ‘beautiful’ place on the urban plan and which will respond to ecological issues.
The overall redevelopment project for Île-des-Vannes should finally improve the daily lives of the inhabitants of the department. The lane along the banks of the Seine will be reopened in June 2022 for “sporting, cultural and artistic” activities, a cycling and pedestrian bridge will be built between the Island and the Docks, and negotiations around river shuttles between Saint-Ouen and the Defense continue, indicates the town hall. The redevelopment project of Île-des-Vannes must cost in all between 80 and 100 million euros.