No rush to be expected from basketball fans during the 2024 Olympics around Hall 6 of the Porte de Versailles Exhibition Center. The organizers of the Games and the international basketball federation have decided to change the venue for the preliminary rounds. The turnaround came this Thursday, March 24 after a wave of criticism from French basketball players. The stars of the tricolor team, Olympic vice-champion had rebelled against this choice, like Evan Fournier who plays in the NBA at the New York Knicks club.
Your sarcastic tone also adopted by Rudy Gobert. The French pivot of the Utah Jazz alludes to the fact that this hall is best known for hosting calves, cows and sheep in February:
I love farming, but it’s true that to play basketball… I’m not going to play in a room where I hit my head when I shoot!
For the basketball players, this choice was indicative of a lack of consideration, a criticism relayed by a former Minister of Sports, David Douillet: ” This is total disrespect! […] I find it crazy that games are made on the cheap. “
In question the height under ceiling -9 meters- regulatory dimension but which did not allow the installation of a cube where the scores would be registered. Another problem mentioned: the air conditioning in the hall, which could have made the parquet floor slippery and therefore dangerous.
Conclusion of the Cojo and the international basketball federation in their press release: “the results of the latest technical studies led Paris 2024 and FIBA not to keep the site, due to the specificities specific to the practice of basketball.”
No change, however, for the quarter-final events for men and women at Bercy.