Sport + events = Sport in d’or

Businesses

Sport in d’or was born from Lydia Chalabi’s passion for golf. After an intense career in the oil industry, which culminated in a burnout, the designer sought to retrain by following her passion for this sport. However, a market study revealed that the number of golfers in Yonne was insufficient for an exclusively dedicated project. She then expanded her concept to include a variety of sports. Initially, she wanted to combine golf with pétanque, mini-golf and padel. However, a logistical problem forced her to abandon the last discipline. “To install padel courts, you need a ceiling height of 11 meters. Here we only have 5 meters. So we turned to squash,” explains the designer. But the director does not abandon the project. “Next year, we will create padel courts”, she confides.

A multifunctional place

Sport in d’or does not just offer sports infrastructures, it also offers a program rich in events to encourage meetings between enthusiasts. Every Tuesday evening, the complex hosts “Never Alone at Sports” evenings, where participants can sign up to play various sports in a group. For €15, these events allow solitary athletes to find partners and share their passion. “We created “Never alone in sport” following a large number of requests from single clients and people wanting to change training partners,” confides Lydia Chalabi. Other events are also to be planned, associations can come and give krav maga or dance lessons.

In order to best accommodate her events and her clients, the designer decided to install a snack bar in her 1,400 m² complex. A chef works to deliver a daily menu every lunchtime as well as boards. On select evenings, the resort remains open so guests can enjoy sporting events. “I am not a bar that will only broadcast sports matches”, specifies the director.