The new venue would be built near the Ligue 1 side’s Groupama Stadium, hosting both sporting and cultural events with a capacity to hold between 10,000 and 15,000 people depending on the space required.
It was not revealed which sports would be staged at the arena, but Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas said the club hope to be able to present the project before next summer.
“We're giving ourselves between two to three years for it to be operational,” said Aulas. “Olympique Lyonnais has the know-how and the financial means, so we would like to be able to present the project before next summer. We'll also determine the site's location and for this we're meeting with elected officials from Décines and Meyzieu.”
Premier League clubs dominate Deloitte soccer rich list top ten
Aulas also reaffirmed his desire for the new site to form part of a “full entertainment” offering that would see two to three million people visit the club each year.
The plans were outlined during a press conference regarding Lyon’s financial performance for the first half of the 2018/19 season, which saw the club’s pre-tax earnings reach €53.9 million (US$60.7 million) with an operating income of €26.3 million (US$29.6 million).
Lyon ranked 28th in the 2019 Deloitte Football Money League with revenues of €164.2 million (US$185 million), but Aulas is confident that the club’s five-year plan will see them break into the top 20 of European soccer’s richest teams.
“This should enable us to generate €400 million of turnover and thus join the ranks of the top 20 most successful European clubs,” he said.
Based on this year’s list, revenues of €400 million would have seen Lyon rank tenth, in between Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur and Italian champions Juventus. European champions Real Madrid topped the rankings with a total revenue of €750.9 million (US$846.1 million).
