Purchase of the GGL Stadium: “We accepted all the conditions, he (the mayor) is lying”, dialogue of the deaf between Altrad and Delafosse

Mohed Altrad parviendra-t-il à racheter le GGL Stadium ? La résignation semble l’emporter. MAXPPP – MICHEL CLEMENTZ

Le son est coupé entre le président du MHR et le maire de Montpellier au sujet du rachat du stade.

Question from a journalist, Tuesday during the press conference of Mohed Altrad, president of the MHR:

– Do you still have the ambition to buy the GGL Stadium or have you drawn a line under this project ?

Answer from the latter:

– Your question assumes that it depends only on me.

Everything was said on the nebula of a subject which makes the boss of the Hérault institution and the elected officials go crazy. With this laconic reply, Altrad implicitly validated the existing disagreement between him and the mayor from Montpellier, Michaël Delafosse. The purchase of the stadium by the billionaire boss: a thorny question which, from the former mayor Philippe Saurel to the current councilor, has remained unresolved for years. However, both agree on the same necessity: creating commercial attractiveness around the stadium.

Also read: Stade Louis-Nicollin, GGL Stadium, new handball room, the three thorns in the side of the mayor of Montpellier Michaël Delafosse

The exploitation of the forecourt: the crux of the disagreement

In an interview with Midi Libre on May 23, Michaël Delafosse affirmed that he had no hostility in principle to this project, but not to "never mind what conditions". "We have ongoing discussions, I sent a letter to President Altrad… We have made proposals several times, but we have difficulty getting an answer", he explained. Scathing response from the boss of the Cistes this Tuesday: "He is lying. He is not waiting for my answer, I have no answer to give him. We agreed to all the conditions, he's lying."

The mayor told me: "It will be done before December 2020"

And to recall the history of the negotiations:"In June 2020, the current mayor wanted to see me to discuss this subject, which is not new: creating a life around the stadium, with breweries, restaurants, shops, medical centers, things that attract. We have 82,000 m2 around the stadium, it lives on match day, and even then. That was the idea. It was in the mayor's campaign program to transfer public infrastructure to rugby and football. The mayor told me: "It will be done before December 2020". Since then, there have been few meetings and it has still not been done. Football won't happen either."

The public issue

Who to believe, when the exploitation of the forecourt seems to be the crux of the disagreement ? "The forecourt is very large , but it is very important that we maintain a public space. There is no question of us selling off any heritage whatsoever", Delafosse assured. In the game of tag and square, it is clear that the gap is widening between Altrad and Delafosse, whose relations are at a standstill.

But the catastrophic season of the MHR this season, which narrowly saved its lead in Top 14, is there to remind us that without the support of a loyal public, the club with 38 years of existence will continue to hammer home the subject of one's own identity.