“I think Quebec has a question to ask itself. This question is: do we want elite sport? »
Alexandre Victor fought against all odds. He did everything to ensure that the Dynastie Sports Institute grew and became an elite academy that developed the talents of the French-speaking world. After five years of hard work, short of financial resources, he made the decision, not without difficulty, to move his product where it was offered everything necessary for success. In Iowa.
“At some point, you say to yourself: do you stay where you are tolerated, or do you go where you are celebrated and where your young people will have better conditions? », says the entrepreneur on the line.
Alexandre Victor created the Dynastie Sports Institute, in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, five years ago. It was the very first private French-speaking basketball institute, without dependence on a school or CEGEP, to emerge in North America.
Sportingly speaking, Victor wanted to train the young French-speaking elite to help them reach the heights of basketball. At the time, in 2021, The Press had published a long report on the program, located in a former church. “I’m giving myself three years of significant losses. Afterwards, we try to balance it out,” said the entrepreneur, who has not paid himself a salary since. He then relied on income that came from a few sponsors and fees charged to families, set on a case-by-case basis according to the ability to pay.
PHOTO MARCO CAMPANOZZI, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Alexander Victor
In order to increase revenue, he was going to develop a range of services open to the public within the center. In 2020, Victor found tenants to open a medical clinic and a gym. However, the pandemic came to disrupt the plans. When he resumed work, months later, the Occupational Health and Safety Commission (CSST) presented itself with a complaint about asbestos in the building. The Institute closed for four months, from May to August 2023. Unable to offer summer camps, it therefore lost another important source of income.
“Before we took samples, we were really scared by saying that there was asbestos everywhere in the church. There, I said to myself: it’s over. The goal was for the tenants to open in September 2023. […] I told them: unfortunately, that will not be possible. »
“We realized where there was really asbestos. In the end, it was not as [grave] only that. We paid to remove asbestos from the place. »
The youth residence, in the presbytery, was also condemned because it did not meet the City’s criteria for fire safety. He had to rent two houses in order to relocate them.
The right ecosystem
From a basketball perspective, however, the Institute was running smoothly. “We raised nearly $3 million in scholarships for our young people, we won championships, we had three young people in March Madness this year,” says Alexandre Victor.
The documentary series 300 basketswhich is part of the daily life of the Dynastie Institute, was recently nominated for the Rockie Awards at the Banff International Media Festival.
Over the past few years, Victor has received calls from people in Ontario and the United States offering to relocate the program. “I didn’t want to trade a dollar for four quarters with just hope,” he says.
What he wanted was to develop the project here, in Quebec. In particular, he wanted to build a campus by purchasing two plots of land around the church.
“I made calls, I went to meet the mayor. There is no support. FACE Coalition [la Fédération de l’économie canadienne africaine] approved me for a $250,000 loan and BDC [Banque de développement du Canada] took it down to $100,000. »
“You say: I’m ready to be a pioneer, to pay the price, to lose money at the beginning… But if, at a certain point, the ecosystem shows you the signs that it has no value for we… It’s not “one is right and one is wrong”, it’s just that you’re going to go where the ecosystem embraces the value that you create. »
Victor worked to find sponsors, but the task was difficult. Most of its donors came from outside Quebec. An African investor was notably ready to inject $800,000.
“At the end of the day, I can’t take someone’s money if the local environment doesn’t buy into the idea. To raise a project like this, you need more than one person. I can be the instigator, but after that, the municipality must want to expand. »
” I will not tell [que la Ville a] been against us. We are tolerated. We do what we do, they are nice to us, polite. I can’t fault them as such. But on the other hand, you have Ontarians and Americans who give you the red carpet, who tell you: “We’re going to do this for you, we’re going to help you.” […] You say to yourself: wow, I don’t have that treatment at home. »
PHOTO MARCO CAMPANOZZI, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
The Dynasty Sports Institute
He was offered a meeting for a project in Iowa. The partner in question, located in Des Moines, is currently building a “more than $20 million” complex including two fields and four half-fields, study rooms, dormitories, a players’ lounge, etc.
“At the beginning, I tried to convince him to invest in us. After that, looking at the situation and what they are capable of offering, the security that it represents for our young people, the conditions in which they will be…”
“ [Le partenaire] is ready to take care of all expenses for the next few years. He sees the value we bring. »
There, says Alexandre Victor, the members of Dynasty are received like kings. The young people who have already visited the place, and who will spend the next few months there, are “enthusiastic”.
Bereavement
As an entrepreneur, Victor has some grieving to do. “There is a disappointment because I feel that I wanted to align myself with local priorities, namely the promotion of French – I was just recruiting from the Francophonie. We were giving a second life to Quebec’s real estate heritage. For me, it was a wink. I wanted to do a win-win project. »
“The thing is that if I felt that there was a change taking place in Quebec… I am not someone who is leaving just for better pay. When you change jobs, it’s because there are better conditions. It’s not just the money that matters. If you feel that your employer does not value you…”
“It’s a mourning, because there is a part of me that had all this attachment to Quebec, to the French-speaking world… But at the end of the day, my real mission is in relation to the work that I we do it with young people and I think I will have better conditions to do it. »
Victor has not yet decided what will happen to Dynastie in Quebec, while he remains the owner of the church in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu.
“If my departure causes certain people to react and say: ‘we can’t lose a flagship like that’… I’m not closing the door to Quebec by saying: ‘I’m angry, I’m leaving.’ I have to do what is best for young people and our organization. »
“In order for me to continue to invest, there needs to be a reflection that takes place and Quebec says to itself: do we want that, do we believe in it? Or do we want to pay $5 million for a hockey team to come and play in Quebec? What are our values ? »