The controversy had been simmering beneath the surface, but at the start of November, it was brought to the boil by Frédéric Maillot, rapporteur for the 2026 sports budget. The Communist MP, who represents La Réunion, went before the Assemblée Nationale’s Committee on Cultural and Educational Affairs on November 3 to discuss plans for the 2030 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Maillot notably criticized the expected cost of building a permanent ice rink in Nice, and of temporarily converting the Allianz Riviera stadium into two ice hockey arenas.
The first facility, the only new sports structure to be built for the Winter Olympics in the French Alps, is estimated at €138 million, according to the public procurement notice published on August 28 by the French Olympic Delivery Authority (SOLIDEO). The cost of converting the OGC Nice football stadium – which also includes compensation for the arena’s concessionaire for four months – amounts to approximately €80 million, as calculated by the General Inspectorate of Finance (IGF) in a report from March 2025 that has not been made public. In total, that amounts to €218 million.
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