The town of Olemps has just handed over the keys to the local club for the new synthetic pitch in La Garrigue. Increasingly popular, these play areas appear to be the right solution to satisfy all parties.
Will play or not play? After Onet, Sébazac, Druelle, Rodez and soon Baraqueville, the question will no longer arise on the Olemps side in the event of bad weather. Since the La Garrigue site is now equipped with its new generation pitch, converted from a natural lawn to a brand new synthetic one.
“Basically, it is a desire of the town hall. On this site, the water entered the earth very quickly and it was cracked. We no longer used this equipment much given its quality. Furthermore, Henri-Montal (the stadium of honor) was widely used. I think that in the long term, many municipalities will resolve to this“, explains Julien Alvergne, the happy president of AS Olemps.
Before continuing: “We have already switched the U7 to U15 categories there. For the U17s, we are thinking. This will allow us to let the stadium of honor rest and recover, we will try to limit the pitch to one or two matches per weekend. The goal is to use synthetics as much as possible even if the flag team will stay at Henri-Montal as much as possible.“No revolution in the game yet planned for Division 1 residents.
Infinite meetings, water and maintenance savings
No degradation, little or almost no maintenance, enormous savings in water and mowing and the possibility of playing an infinite number of matches without damaging it during the same weekend… The advantages of this surface are legion. Enough to rejoice the boss of Aveyron footballers, Pierre Bourdet, who also only sees benefits: “When I end the presidency, if we have gone from five to fifteen stages of this kind, I would be very happy. I'm 100% for it. This solves the problem of water usage and the number of matches that can be played in the same weekend in an extraordinary way. Football on a grass pitch with the quality of the Parc des Princes, yes; but where in Aveyron can we do this? As soon as it rains, frost and winter arrive, we screw them up “, argues the president of the Aveyron district. And to complete: “For the future, when possible, synthetic is also a great way to develop football, and it should not only be reserved for big clubs. “
Nearly €1M excluding taxes
Started in July 2024, the work was completed at the beginning of November and the new setting was delivered on November 15, even though its doors opened for the first training session at the beginning of January. However, this has a cost: 948,614 euros excluding tax for this with the town hall which contributed 439,911 euros and another part from various subsidies (city, department, region, FFF, Sieda) for 508,703 euros. .
Enough to give new ambitions to the local club? “ We already have around 300 licensees. The crux of the matter is the number of educators, we would like this to open up new perspectives for us“, notes President Alvergne.
Thoughts but we will have to wait until 2026
Other towns in Aveyron are considering joining the movement. There would be about five of them. But only at the project stage since, according to the actors, the municipal elections of 2026 are too close to launch the initiative. Unless there are any surprises, we will therefore have to wait until the next term of office to see new synthetic stadiums emerge in Aveyron.
