Entertainment company Live Nation and Olympique Lyonnais Groupe, which operates French Ligue 1 football club Olympique Lyonnais, have signed a long-term commercial agreement, which begins with the construction of the Lyon-Decines Arena.
The new venue has a 16,000 capacity and will host around 100 concerts and events each year. It will be located on the Olympic Lyonnaise Valley site.
Lyon awarded the contract to design and build the new arena to architectural firm Populous and Citinea, which is a subsidiary of Vinci Construction.
Owner and chairman of the Ligue 1 club Jean-Michel Aulas first announced the club was planning to develop a new arena in February 2019.
Live Nation has worked with OL Groupe since the Groupama Stadium – the home ground of Lyon – opened in 2016. The stadium has seen a number of international tours from artists such as Rihanna, Coldplay and Ed Sheeran.
Angelo Gopee, managing director of Live Nation France, said: “France is a country that lives and breathes music and entertainment, and we’re proud to bring a new arena to Lyon that will make it front and centre for live entertainment by opening up a whole new touring market.”
The new arena will also have a capacity of 12,000 for sporting events and will have three stands facing the stage, with the fourth stand being removable for use during these sporting events. It will also host esports events to run alongside traditional sporting action.
Aulas added: “This agreement with one of the world’s leaders in musical entertainment is a long-term one and breathes life into the OL Valley Arena project.
“We are extremely honoured to have Live Nation alongside us, enabling our city to welcome high-quality international stars who will draw in spectators not only from Lyon but also from the surrounding region and beyond.”
The new Lyon-Decines Arena is set to be completed in 2023.
Image: Live Nation Entertainment
Share this