Lyon will not host the Top 14 semi-finals in 2024 or 2025. The National Rugby League revealed last week the next three sites where the last four of the French Championship will be held: in San Sebastian, Spain, next year, then in Lille in 2024 and finally in Bordeaux in 2025. No Lyon on the program when the municipality hoped to be designated host city initially by offering to organize the matches at Groupama Stadium.
Stronghold of French rugby with the LOU, which plays in the former stadium of Olympique Lyonnais, the Gerland stadium, Lyon had solid arguments to seduce the leaders of the LNR by relying on a stadium of nearly 60,000 squares.
But a disagreement concerning a sponsor derailed the project while the city also presented the "
best financial offer"
, reveals Le Progrès.
The town hall did not want a car show on Place Bellecour
The event was to drain animations in the city center and in particular on the place Bellecour where one of the sponsors, a car manufacturer, had planned to organize an exhibition of vehicles.
A presentation that did not appeal to the municipality in the hands of environmentalists, reluctant to promote this industry, even if it was electric cars.
According to
Le Progrès
, the leaders of the League have tried to negotiate with the mayor of the city Grégory Doucet, but also with Bruno Bernard, president of the Métropole de Lyonnais, elected EELV.
Without success.
This dispute may have had an impact on the votes at the LNR which finally opted for the city of Bordeaux, a city placed under an EELV mandate (Pierre Hurmic) with 18 votes against 13 for Lyon.