After the association, the professional section of SU Agen held its financial general meeting this Thursday evening. Like his counterpart in the amateur side Thierry Aviano, who reduced the deficit from 117,000 to -10,000 euros in eighteen months, the president of the SASP Jean-François Fonteneau will balance a budget of €12.2 million. “If the club is healthy, it is because there are guarantees provided by the majority shareholder. » They are all the more important as the SUA has made “a lot of investments”.
“We have very heavy commitments on the stadium side,” recalls Jean-François Fonteneau. Between the loan repayment for the €8 million provided for the renovation of Armandie (around 700,000 euros per year), the rental of the stadium (300,000 euros rent per year), the maintenance and cleaning of the VIP areas and the stands, we are at €1.2 million in total per year. » An envelope which does not include the regular renewal of a lawn which remains classified, season after season, among the worst in the professional elite.
Economic model in danger
After making people cringe, the “lawn file” is not put away in the cupboard. “We are moving forward with the community,” assures Jean-François Fonteneau. It will not move next season, but it is a file that will evolve in 2026. » Towards hybrid or synthetic? “Personally, like the staff and the players, we are more on a synthetic orientation,” specifies the Agen president. It would also allow us to more easily organize events and shows to improve our economic model. »
In this perspective, Jean-François Fonteneau has not abandoned his project for a fourth stand on the “Butte à Bébert”, even if he “does not control the calendar” and has revised his copy. “We are talking more about the “East building” from now on, in which there would be a brewery and medical care and fitness activities as initially planned. » But no more fourth stand? “The priority is not to add audiences. The objective is already to fill the stadium we have with 10,400 covered seats. »
Pro D2. Before Oyonnax, SU Agen on the tightrope
-The Agenais return home with the pressure of the result. Friday's shock (7:30 p.m.) promises to be crucial for an SUA which must relaunch against the Oyomen who, too, have four defeats in a row
And President Agenais warned: “If we are not integrated into the SUA Tennis project with an “East building” which is essential for us, it is the death of our economic model. »
France
Rugby
