Work needed for the Basser to play in Ligue 2 this season. The progress and details of the upgrades to bring the Stade Lavallois enclosure up to standard were presented this Wednesday at the stadium by club president Laurent Lairy and the mayor of Laval, Florian Bercault, who is also president of Laval agglo. Owner of the Basser, Laval Agglo has released an envelope of 500,000 euros to meet Ligue 2 regulations.
Replacement of all lighting
No more sodium lamps and hello LEDs for lighting. The work is in progress but has been validated. “We had a standard that was valid vertically but not horizontally, so the decision was made to switch from sodium lighting to LED lighting”details club president Laurent Lairy, “it’s mainly for the images when the TV will broadcast the match and the interest is also that we will consume less so it’s a useful investment”. It is the most expensive project, around 300,000 euros.
A new command post
You must also perform security tweaks, imposed by the French Football Federation and the Professional Football League. A new command center will therefore see the light of day, “we need a command post, which did not exist and at height so that we can control all the events that can happen during matches”, explains Laurent Lairy. Cost of these developments: approximately 100,000 euros and then a development for the reception of visitors, the press and a renovation of the changing rooms. there too an envelope of around 100,000 euros.
A call to the department and the region to co-finance the work
All of this is 100% supported by Laval Agglo, but the mayor of Laval, Florian Bercault, president of Laval Agglo calls for a small participation of other communities. “I believe that the Stade Lavallois belongs to the Mayenne territory and more broadly to the people of the Loire and therefore I actually made the request to the departmental and regional authorities, to have co-financing and through that strong symbolic support”he says but he is still waiting for the response from both parties.
Security in and around the stadium must also be reinforced to meet the specifications of the LFP. The regulations require the presence of 70 to 100 people for a match night and this time, Stade Lavallois bears this cost. “We will have around twenty additional agents per match, provided by a service provider, there too there are LFP regulations, which we respect but that we knew because it has not changed compared to when we were in Ligue 2″adds Laurent Lairy. The number of agents is therefore doubled compared to the National, going from 50 to 70-90 people and all this work will have been carried out in six months, between the moment when the new regulations arrived last January and the first home match on August 6 against Guingamp. “A small feat all the same, worth mentioning” according to the club and the mayor of Laval, as well as all those involved in this work.
Work normally completed on August 6
Normally everything will be ready for the first game championship at home on August 6 against Guingamp and if ever it is not finished in time, the club plans to request a derogation for exceptionally not presenting all the criteria and validating the copy during the second championship match at home. Also note that on match nights, Avenue Pierre-de-Coubertin will be cut traffic to facilitate travel on foot or by public transport.