Caisse d'Epargne Hauts de France: €100m to build and renovate sports facilities
This envelope for a total of €100 million (available to local authorities starting on October 26, 2023) will run until December 31, 2024. It will include specific financial conditions designed to meet the needs of public-sector partners.
A long-standing partner of regional sport, the Caisse d'Epargne Hauts de France has taken this decision within the framework of its ongoing Premium partnership with the Olympic & Paralympic Games Paris 2024.
Strategic economic, health, and environmental issues
It should be remembered that the sports economy accounts for 2.6% of French GDP and includes 130,000 companies employing 450,000 people in France, serving a total of 35 million sports enthusiasts. The country boasts 330,000 sports facilities, 80% of which are owned by local authorities*.
As almost one quarter of older facilities (i.e. built before 1985) have never been renovated – stadiums (soccer, rugby, athletics, etc.), tennis courts as well as basketball, handball, and volleyball courts, multi-purpose halls, swimming pools, gymnasiums, etc. – the demand for funding is substantial. At the level of the Hauts-de-France region, these needs constitute a strategic challenge that this new funding envelope, thanks to its size, is designed to meet.
The bank of sport
The Caisse d'Epargne Hauts de France (in conjunction with other Groupe BPCE companies) has already teamed up with the Entreprendre 2024 operation, an initiative launched in 2020 to encourage the region's SMEs and associations to take part in the calls for tenders issued within the context of the preparations for the Olympic & Paralympic Games Paris 2024. The aim of this initiative is to broaden the economic benefits generated by this major sporting event to entities other than the usual large national and international companies. To date, 220 companies or social economy players in the Hauts-de-France region have been awarded contracts related to Paris 2024.
This drive to finance regional infrastructures also represents a continuation of the Caisse d'Epargne Hauts de France's historic investment in sport for the benefit of its employees, cooperative shareholders, and customers.
For further details:
- The press release published by the Caisse d'Epargne Hauts de France (in French).
- Consult the latest edition of the BPCE L'Observatoire report devoted to the sports economy published in January 2023 – The sports industry: the challenges of a champion – with, for the first time, an assessment of the industry's impact on French GDP based on the contributions of all the players actively involved in sport.
* Source: BPCE L'Observatoire.