The city of Paris has unveiled the Adidas Arena, the only new sports venue in inner Paris that will be used during the 2024 Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Workshops for the public and a basketball match were staged on Sunday at the arena, which is in a deprived neighbourhood north of the capital, six months before the launch of the Olympic Games.
The two-hectare venue will host badminton, rhythmic gymnastics, para-badminton and para-weightlifting competitions.
Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo on Sunday said she was proud that the area that was being transformed.
“Before, people mocked us," Ms Hidalgo said. “Change is possible."
It is one of three flagship projects of the Games along with the Olympic Village and the Aquatics Centre, just outside the city near the Stade de France.
The Arena would have been built "with or without the prospects of the Games", reported the daily Le Figaro this week, "but the timing guarantees tremendous attention for the building."
When the Games end on August 11, the Arena will become the headquarters of the Paris Basketball Club.
With a capacity of 9,000 people, it will also host concerts and local schoolchildren will be able to exercise in its two gymnasiums.
The city council hopes the Arena will help to shed the La Chapelle neighbourhood's poor reputation for dealing and use of illicit drugs.
Construction of the Arena included planting trees and creating new pedestrian areas to boost the attractiveness of the Avenue de la Chapelle area. The building has a green roof and solar panels.
"It was urban chaos," Ms Hidalgo told the France Info radio network. "It's becoming something worthy of the inhabitants of this neighbourhood.
"The Avenue de la Chapelle must become as beautiful as the Champ de Mars or the Champs Elysees."
City officials felt there was a need for a medium-sized venue in the French capital. Comparable venues, including the Accor Arena, are either much larger or much smaller.
"The two-and-a-half-year deadline was met for construction work that Paris absolutely needed," Pierre Rabadan, deputy mayor of Paris in charge of the Olympic Games, told Le Figaro.
The city council chose to name the Arena after sports outfitter Adidas in 2022.
French media reported that the brand will transfer close to €2.8 million ($3 million) a year to the city over five years.
About 80 per cent of the €138 million in construction costs were paid for by the city, according to France Info.
The inauguration of the Arena is welcome news for the city as a dispute deepens between Ms Hidalgo and Nasser Al Khelaifi, owner of football giants Paris Saint-Germain.
Reports claim she privately told Mr Al Khelaifi that PSG would be able to buy Parc des Princes, but she has publicly said this would not be possible.
A council vote confirmed her position on Tuesday. PSG claim that buying the stadium is necessary for its expansion.
PSG supporters unveiled banners critical of Ms Hidalgo at the Lille-PSG match on Saturday. They included messages such as “Hidalgo is killing Paris and its magic”, according to the Huffington Post.
Speaking to France Info on Sunday, Mr Rabadan said: “We want the same thing as the supporters, we want PSG to stay at the Parc des Princes.
“This is where the club was created, grew, made its history.
"Dialogue must resume."
