Palais omnisports
Marseille Grand-Est
Address12 boulevard Fernand Bonnefoy
LocationMarseille, France
Capacity5600 (ice hockey)
Field size60 × 30 metre
Surface21,487 m2[1]
Construction
Broke ground26 April 2007[1]
Opened11 December 2009[2]
Construction cost€ 48 million[2]
ArchitectChabanne et partenaires[1]
Main contractorsGagne Construction Métallique
Chagnaud Construction
SPIE Batignolles/Valérian[3]
Tenants
Gabians de Marseille (2009–2012)
Spartiates de Marseille (2012–present)

The Palais omnisports Marseille Grand-Est (French for 'Marseille Great Eastern Multisport Palace'), abbreviated as POMGE, is a multi-purpose arena primarily used as an ice rink, located in Marseille, Bouches-du-Rhône, France. It is the home venue for ice hockey team Spartiates de Marseille.[4] The complex also houses a skate park which, at the time of its opening, was billed as the largest such indoor installation in Europe.[5]
It was inaugurated in 2009, and is popularly known as Patinoire de la Capelette after the Marseille quarter it sits in, la Capelette.[2]

History

Ice availability has historically been an issue in the Marseille metropolitan area, one of the France's three largest agglomerations.

A semi-permanent 56 × 26 metre rink was built at the Parc des Expositions Marseille-Chanot in the wake of the 1968 Grenoble Olympics,[6] which introduced ice sports to the broader French public, but it was dismantled in 1974.[6]

A new ice rink, Patinoire du Rouet, opened the same year inside a repurposed fruit packing plant, but it was severely undersized at 40 × 20 metre. The facility closed in 1984 and no other venue would be active in the area until 1993,[6] when a recreational rink measuring 46 × 20 metre opened on Avenue Jules Cantini. However it closed within two years.[6]

Another rink called Megaglace opened in 1994 near the neighbouring college town of Aix-en-Provence. Built inside an old sanitary ware retail space and measuring 42 × 20 metre, it again fell short of the standards expected from a major agglomeration.[7]
Finally in 1998, a sister facility called Megaglace 2 opened in Aubagne. Although still relatively spartan, it boasted a small stand and a 56 × 26 metre track, in compliance with minimum IIHF regulations.[6]

In March 2004, the municipality of Marseille launched preliminary consultations to give the city a suitable ice sports facility as part of a broader urban rehabilitation plan.[8] In March 2005, the project presented by architectural firm Chabanne et partenaires was selected.[9] During most of its planning and building phases, it was tentatively known as Palais de la glace et de la glisse de Marseille.[9]

After some delays, the facility was inaugurated on 11 December 2009, under the new name Palais omnisports Marseille Grand-Est.[2] The ceremony was attended by Minister of Sports Roselyne Bachelot-Narquin, and featured an exhibition by former ISU World Champion ice dancers Isabelle Delobel and Olivier Schoenfelder.[10]

Building

The POMGE cost an estimated €48 million to build, with most of the work split between main contractors Gagne Construction Métallique, Chagnaud Construction and SPIE Batignolles/Valérian.[3]

Ice rink

At 5,600 in hockey configuration, the main hall is the largest permanent ice rink in France in terms of spectator capacity,[4] which excludes ice capable entertainment venues such as Paris' Accor Arena, regular home of the ice hockey Coupe de France final.[11] It features an 1800 m2 Olympic size pad.[3]
The second ice rink is a recreational track, and has an unconventional shape consisting of circular areas and elliptical corridors. It has a surface of 1250 m2.[2]

Skate park

In addition to the ice facilities, the Palais offers a 3500 m2 indoor skate park for roller skating, skateboarding and BMX activities.[2] It has a capacity of 750 spectators, extensible to 1500.[5]

Notable events

References

  1. 1 2 3 Galoffre, Céline (27 April 2007). "Un Palais de la glisse à Marseille". batiactu.com. BatiActu Groupe. Retrieved 5 October 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 de Broqua, Aliette (10 December 2009). "Le Palais Omnisports de Marseille Grand-Est inauguré le 11 décembre". econostrum.info. Retrieved 5 October 2021.
  3. 1 2 3 "Inauguration du Palais Omnisports Marseille Grand-Est" (PDF) (Press release). Service de presse–Ville de Marseille. 11 December 2009. Retrieved 5 October 2021.
  4. 1 2 "Hockey sur glace : coup de projecteur sur ces Marseillais nouveaux champions de France de Division 1". france3-regions.francetvinfo.fr. France TV. 26 April 2021. Retrieved 5 October 2021.
  5. 1 2 Fontana, Jean-Baptiste (15 March 2010). "Marseille : Le Palais de la Glisse et de la Glace propose le plus grand skate-park indoor d'Europe". frequence-sud.fr. Ifestival. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 Ferrari, Christine; Gaudence, Robert; David, Jean; Foulon, Pascal; Autié, Gérard. "Histoire du hockey sur glace à Marseille". hockeyarchives.info. Marc Branchu. Retrieved 5 October 2021.
  7. ↑ Brayer, Thierry (22 August 2020). "La patinoire d'Aix-en-Provence". laixois.fr. Retrieved 5 October 2021.
  8. ↑ Challiol, Brigitte (22 April 2004). "La ville de Marseille redessine ses quartiers à l'entrée de l'autoroute est". lesechos.com. Pearson. Retrieved 5 October 2021.
  9. 1 2 "Marseille, enfin, à l'âge de glace". cyberarchi.com. Groupe Cyber Archi. 9 March 2005. Archived from the original on 2005-03-15. Retrieved 5 October 2021.
  10. ↑ Fiorito, Jean-Jacques (12 December 2009). "C'est parti pour le palais de la glace à Marseille". laprovence.com. Groupe La Provence. Retrieved 5 October 2021.
  11. ↑ "Spectacle Paris Accord Hotel Arena". nsworld.fr. NS World. Retrieved 5 October 2021.

43°16′55″N 5°24′06″E / 43.28207°N 5.40174°E / 43.28207; 5.40174

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