NBA Stars and FIBA’s Concern Is Forcing Paris Olympics Committee to Change Basketball Venue

Sometimes a flurry of bad news dampens the most exciting events. The basketball venue for the Paris Olympics 2024 has reached a similar predicament.

The committee dropped the venue originally decided upon following severe scrutiny from players and the governing body. Now, the organizers of the meet are in a fix over the decision. They are actively working towards finalizing the venue for the meet.

Which venue will host the Paris Olympics 2024 basketball events?

The committee dropped the previous venue from the meet after receiving widespread backlash from French NBA players in March. Numerous players opined regarding the low ceiling height of the arena. Furthermore, they also expressed safety concerns over the conduct of matches in the venue.

After gaining traction, the Paris organizing committee decided to drop the venue for good. Now, reports are coming in regarding a new move to conduct the basketball matches in the soccer stadium in Lille.

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If the committee finalizes the venue in Lille, teams would have to travel about 130 miles from Paris for each match, or they would need to board somewhere near, outside the athletes’ village in Paris.

The basketball matches at the 2024 Paris Olympics are anticipated to be among the major attractors at the meet. Furthermore, the sport will bring in prominent NBA and WNBA players.

However, with the latest development, the new probable venue could hamper the count of crowds turning in to watch the matches as the Lille stadium is about 3 hours from Paris. Previously, the stadium hosted prominent meets, including the European Championships for soccer and basketball.

Additionally, the stadium has also featured a final event of the Davis Cup. However, the most distinctive feature of this stadium is its retractable roof.

Why is FIBA criticizing the new basketball venue?

Now, the sport’s governing body, FIBA has criticized the move to conduct the events. Expressing his concerns, Andreas Zagklis, the secretary-general of FIBA, said, “We don’t feel that our athletes should be subject to the conditions we currently have on the table.”

“We feel some basic conditions for our players like in all previous Olympics should be respected,” he added.

The committee has not decided the venue of the preliminary rounds. However, the Paris-Bercy Arena, with a seating capacity of 15,000 people, will hold the medal events.

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Therefore, the decision reflects the importance of the game in the host country, whose men’s and women’s basketball teams won the silver and bronze at the Tokyo Olympics, respectively.