The standoff between the leaders of Biarritz Olympique and the city's mayor, Maider Arosteguy, continues. In the columns of the
South West
, the councilor expressed his fears that Biarritz Olympique would be relocated to the North, as desired by the leaders of the BO.
“The threat is very real,
” she insists.
These are the words that Louis-Vincent Gave had made to me during the match of June 12
(barrage of access to the Top 14 won against Bayonne, Editor's note),
namely that the population pool was too small in Biarritz, the basin Lille much more interesting. This is not provocation, it is serious. All my work is to try to keep the club as long as possible in its territory. "
And to recognize:
"That he leaves, it makes no sporting, legal sense, at the level of the spirit of the team ... On the other hand, economically, it is sure that it makes sense."
To discover
The schedule for the new season of Top 14
Read also: The Biarritz rugby club relocated to the North of France?
At the heart of the conflict between the town hall and the Biarritz club, we find the rehabilitation project of the Aguilera plateau.
Faced with disputes between the two parties concerning the financing of this project, Jean-Baptiste Aldigé, the chairman of the board of the BOPB, brandished the threat of a relocation of the club to the North.
Maider Arosteguy continues:
“I feel they are much less interested than in the past to play the great Aguilera, because I think they started out on a Lille hypothesis.
But I'm quite optimistic by nature and I think this project still has a chance to see the light of day. ”
We ensure that the only lever that allows the club to leave definitively, the amateur BO license, can also stay in Biarritz.
Maider Arosteguy
The town hall of Biarritz has decided to take a step towards its rugby club, by financing work on the Aguiléra stadium.
“I saw President Aldigé again before his departure for Lille last week. We have also just validated more than 50,000 euros of work, for the showers, the comfort of the players, while it is not at all for the town hall to do so under a long-term lease. We are doing this work - this week, because the players are not in Aguilera - as a gesture of our good will to keep the club in its historic territory. We also temporarily agreed to pay for the fluids,
advances the Basque elected representative in the
South West
.
Finally, we ensure that the only lever that allows the club to leave definitively, the license of the amateur BO, can also remain in Biarritz. "
High-end recruitment
This season, Biarritz Olympique, a historic French rugby club (5 Brennus, the last in 2006), is back in the Top 14 after seven years of absence.
For this return to the elite, the Basque club has carried out an ambitious recruitment, in particular by enlisting the Wallabies center Tevita Kuridrani, the Argentine international scrum-half Tomas Cubelli, the New Zealand third line Eliott Dixon or the Irish pillar James Cronin.
With the desire to settle permanently in the elite.
But on the Basque Coast or in the North?
BO's first friendly match, against Bordeaux-Bègles, takes place on Friday in… Villeneuve-d'Ascq near Lille.
