Le Chesnay rolls out the red carpet for its child prodigy. This Tuesday afternoon, the surroundings of the Pierre-Curvat gymnasium are cordoned off, the children of the basketball club in this town of Yvelines, near Versailles, are pawing impatiently to see their idol, the NBA star and kid from the city. On the occasion of the two matches he will play on Thursday and Saturday at the Accor Arena in Paris, Victor Wembanyama stopped off in his hometown to inaugurate two outdoor basketball courts, financed largely by his team, the San Antonio Spurs.
“What happiness, what emotion to be there,” the French international underlined this Tuesday. It's amazing to be in my hometown. I see a lot of familiar faces, faces that I have come across. To make this project possible in a few months, thanks to certain people, is incredible. »
It was the 21-year-old young man who came up with the idea. “When he came to France for the Olympic Games, Victor Wembanyama returned to Le Chesnay-Rocquencourt. He expressed his very strong attachment to the city and the wish to be able to help in the creation of a facility open to the public and particularly to young people in the town, says the mayor (MoDem) Richard Delepierre. It's rather a great adventure and an opportunity that we found difficult not to seize. We were very flattered and then we released the plans. »
A fresco created in collaboration with the star
All that remained was to make the giant's wish come true. The site is found. This is a former handball court, located near the Curvat gymnasium. Finally, it changed its use to accommodate two basketball courts, one for 5X5 and another for 3X3, popularized during the Olympic Games. And to mark this alliance between Wemby and Le Chesnay, a fresco is created on the two grounds.
Its creation is due to Corentin Cormerais, an artist from Seine-Saint-Denis. “When I learned that I was selected for the project, it was an explosion of joy,” says the graffiti artist, who throughout the project worked closely with the city and the Spurs. From sketches imagined by the club in collaboration with the city, he brought his touch.
-“I was inspired by the Spurs spur. And Victor would suggest ideas to me through his agent. He sent me a model of the clock tower he often passed by. I took his idea and adapted it to optimize it and make it more readable and visible. His agent told me Victor liked the way I reworked the Spurs logo. »
“It was my dream when I was a kid”
Once the project was validated, Corentin began production the day after Christmas with a few sleepless nights. Initially, he was to create a mural only on the 5X5 field. He managed to decorate the second one as well despite a very tight schedule.
The result: a pitch in blue and sea green colors echoing the shades of the roof of the gymnasium, in the center the Spurs logo revisited and embellished with the Chesnay-Rocquencourt clock tower, as the symbol of Victor Wembanyama's attachment to his hometown where his parents work as sports instructors. “He has real maturity and a real desire to help young people, particularly in the region, benefit from what he can bring, what he can offer,” underlines the mayor before specifying that the Spurs Give foundation finances 77% of the project, or 391,000 euros.
“It was my dream to have a quality field with free access when I was a kid,” continues the NBA player. I'm happy that this dream is coming true for the children. »
