Who would have thought that anything positive could come out of the pandemic, but every cloud has a silver lining.
In terms of the massive renovation of Stade Louis II, the shortened football season is helping the work crews get more freedom to finish.
And the many millions of euros being spent are going to see results ready just in time for the Herculis meet in mid-August. A spanking new athletics track and latest generation LED lighting are projects accelerating almost as fast as the athletes we will be able to see very soon taking advantage of the new facilities.
Reportedly more than 7,000 m² have been needed to be replaced, not counting the 500 m² of the indoor heating track, under the Première grandstand. And the LED lights will have the advantage of consuming less energy.
Inaugurated in 1985 the stadium has certainly had a good 35 year run. The makeover which started in 2016 is huge and will appear never-ending because it is targeted to go on until 2029. But we get many of the benefits straight away. The nautical centre and swimming pool renovations are already shining new after three to four seasons of work and reportedly a budget of 16 million euros.
There are brand new boxes for over 11 million euros; we just need Monaco at the top of the table and playing in European level tournaments to show them off to the VIPs of world football. The soccer turf is great. And every time a surface is worked on, stabilizing it , heating, drainage and ensuring the grip is secure are hidden projects that eat up a lion’s share of the money being spent. There’s more to what’s visible than meets the eye.
The other small piece of good fortune is the moving of the Herculis meet to mid-August. That gives just enough breathing room for the teams, including reportedly 20 to 25 workers who are beavering away on the track, to get to grips with all the work, because the renovation of the athletics track and lighting are part of a package which is currently labelled as urgent. And it has to be done with new very strict sanitary measures imposed on the sites, to preserve the health of the personnel.
Each of these projects, large by themselves, are part of a vast renovation and modernization project launched in 2016. A multi-sports complex, it has 145,000 m2 of floor space and is one of the highest profile buildings in the Principality.
The total scope of the project, as well as its overall budget, have not yet been fully authorized. And the implementation of the works is not planned to conclude before 2029.
