The renovation and extension works of the Le Parnasse sports complex will have to wait. No winner is indeed selected by the city of Nîmes (Gard), contracting authority, for the restricted competition for project management, the community announced on March 1 in a press release. Launched on December 10, 2020, the call for projects aimed “to modernize, make profitable and potentially eventualize the structure, which does not necessarily allow it today”, indicates Jean-Paul Fournier, LR mayor of Nîmes.
Among the three teams selected, two projects were deemed irregular, automatically excluding them from the competition. To respond to the competition launched by the city of Nîmes, the candidates had to provide various elements. However, “some parts were missing. It was therefore impossible to officially receive the file, ”says one in the entourage of the mayor. The irregularity of two of the three answers also resided in the non-respect of the initially planned budget. “We had set a budget of 15 million euros, but two of the three projects did not respect the budget envelope. The architects have proposed amounts exceeding the financial framework, ”we continue from the same source.
Complex project
The USAM Nîmes Gard handball club plays within Parnasse.Dominique Marck/City of Nîmes
After reflection, the community has chosen not to select any winner. Indeed, with a single admissible project, the city could not establish a comparison between different proposals. “However, the comparison was deemed necessary, given the stakes of the project, which is complex, with a double dimension of renovation and extension”, it is underlined.
The program and the objectives of the competition will be revised before launching the next consultation, in a few weeks.
Built in 1993 for the Mediterranean Games, Le Parnasse has 3,391 seats spread over three stands. It is within the sports enclosure that the USAM Nîmes Gard handball club evolves. The extension of the enclosure is a campaign promise of Jean-Paul Fournier, mayor since 2001. The latter made it known, during the campaign for the municipal elections of 2020, his wish to transform the Parnassus into an Arena, and to increase the number of places to 4,500, recalls Gard objective.
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