Piscine patinoire de Boulogne-Billancourt

Piscine patinoire de Boulogne-Billancourt (lit. 'Boulogne-Billancourt Pool and Ice Rink') is an administrative ensemble consisting of two neighboring but physically separate sports venues located in Boulogne-Billancourt, Hauts-de-Seine, France, just west of Paris. The ice rink is home to the ice hockey section of multisports organization Athletic Club de Boulogne-Billancourt, which was one of the sport's most prominent West European representatives in the late 1950s and early 1960s.

Ice rink

History

Ice sports have a long history in the Boulogne-Billancourt area, as the lakes of the Bois de Boulogne were a favorite destination of skaters during the 19th and early 20th century. The lakes were also a prime source of commercial ice for the food and restaurant industries, much of it extracted by the sector's leading company, the Société des glacières de Paris (lit. 'Paris Ice Houses Company'). As the industry moved from natural to artificial ice at the turn of the twentieth century, the company opened its main ice factory in nearby Billancourt (which later fused with Boulogne-sur-Seine to form Boulogne-Billancourt).

According to figure skating coach Jacqueline Vaudecrane, she was instrumental in securing the new building in a meeting with France's then ministry of sport, using leverage gained from the victory of her student Jacqueline du Bief's in the 1952 World Figure Skating Championships. However, the municipal archives of Boulogne-Billancourt state that preliminary work had in fact started several years before, at the behest of Jacques Lacarrière, general secretary in charge of ice hockey at the French Ice Sports Federation (which administered the sport before it became independent) and federation president Georges Guérard, as downtown Paris' Palais des sports de Grenelle was showing serious signs of aging. The rink's actual backer was grocery store heir Philippe Potin, who contributed much of the development costs.

The construction site was selected due to its proximity with the Société des glacières de Paris building, which would act as the rink's ice supplier. The company was approached in 1948 and greeted the idea with enthusiasm, as it would provide a valuable source of income outside of the busy summer season. The city of Boulogne-Billancourt gave its approval in 1951 and donated the terrain. Construction work took place from 1953 to 1955. It was built by Anciens établissements Eiffel (lit. 'Former Eiffel Establishments'), the successor company to Gustave Eiffel's original firm G. Eiffel & Cie. The gig was part of the company's efforts to reposition itself as a general contractor in the industrial and recreational markets, as metal—its speciality—was taking a backseat to concrete in large infrastructure projects. The building was formally inaugurated on 21 December 1955. Due to its direct affiliation with the French Ice Sports Federation, the ice rink was originally known as Patinoire fédérale (English: Federal Ice Rink) or just "La Fédérale".

Following Jacques Lacarrière's death in 2005, there have been periodic efforts to rename the rink after him. Mayor Jean-Pierre Fourcade expressed his support, but the political majority changed and the project was never seriously considered again. On December 17, 2019, a plaque was unveiled to commemorate ACBB's three wins in the famed Spengler Cup invitational tournament at the turn of the sixties.

Design

The rink was designed by Paris-based architect Louis Saint-Calbre, an ice sports competitor himself. Its most distinctive feature was perhaps its roof supported by six 51-meter-wide arches, and made of translucent polyester panels that extended onto the building's west side. The main hall was originally adorned with a monumental analog scoreboard on the west side, and a large analog clock on north wall, both made by Longines. The clock is still present but the scoreboard has been removed. Most administrative offices were located on the first floor. Although it has sometimes been called a Patinoire olympique, its ice sheet seems to fall slightly short of traditional Olympic requirements, with listed dimensions of approximately 60 m (200 ft) by 29 m (95 ft), and a listed surface of 1,711 m² (18,420 sq ft).

The rink was originally connected to the Société des glacières de Paris via an underground tunnel, which carried ice or coolant from the factory to the venue. As cold rooms had by then supplanted much of the business, the ice factory closed in 1974 and the rink now uses a standalone refrigeration system. The public park that today borders the rink, and occupies the land where the ice factory once stood, bears the name Parc des glacières (lit. 'Ice Houses Park') in remembrance of the area's historical background.

In 2002–2003, in conjunction with a remodel of the adjacent swimming pool, the rink was given a major makeover. The original translucent roof was replaced by a better insulated one made of metal, while the translucent panels on the west side were replaced by a full glass wall. The office space was also restructured, although the general shape of the building was kept intact due to its architectural value. During the renovation, ACBB's men's hockey roster plied its trade in Paray-Vieille-Poste, as part of a joint team formed with the local club.

Resident organizations

The rink hosted the headquarters of the French Ice Sports Federation (FFSG) for fifteen years. It was also home to the Ligue des Sports de Glace Île de France (a division of the FFSG overseeing the Paris Region specifically) from the division's creation in 1969 to 2004.

The Federation's national figure skating school founded by trainer Jacqueline Vaudecrane moved to Boulogne-Billancourt from Sporting Victor-Hugo, and hosted such athetes as Alain Calmat, Alain Giletti, Patrick Péra and Surya Bonaly, most of them registered with the ice sports section of Athletic Club de Boulogne-Billancourt. In 1998, the rink welcomed the ice skating section of another multisports group, Paris Olympique Club, which was created that year, largely to accommodate figure skater Laëtitia Hubert after she and her coach had a falling out with Français Volants, Paris' historic ice sports club based at Patinoire Sonja-Henie.

The first speed skating event histed by the rink was a standalone event celebrating its inauguration, on 29 December 1955. The venue once housed a speed skating club chaired by André Kouprianoff. Speed skating activities were organized under the names C.P.C.P. (Club de Patinage de Course de Paris) and C.E.P.G.

Prior to the wave of ice rink openings that accompanied 1968's Grenoble Olympics, Boulogne hosted most hockey teams in the Paris Region. The first hockey game played at the venue pitted Paris HC against CSG Paris (later known as CSG Molitor). Other featured teams included hometown side ACBB, US Métro (which moved to Viry-Chatillon in 1971 as Jets de Viry), Association sportive de la Préfecture de police de Paris and the short-lived Lions de Paris. Even though he was one of the driving forces behind the venue, Jacques Lacarrière frowned upon having to share ice time with so many tenants, and opted against bringing back his own club, Français Volants (which was then on hold). The Volants would only reform in 1965 with the opening of Palais de la Jeunesse et des Sports in Charenton-le-Pont.
Boulogne also hosted a brief revival of the Coupe Jean-Potin, an invitational hockey tournament created by Philippe Potin's father Jean Potin, which had enjoyed popular success before and immediately after World War II at the Palais des sports de Grenelle.

In popular culture

On 2 January 1972, the rink hosted a special edition of :fr:Télé-Dimanche (lit. 'Sunday TV'), French television's leading weekend variety show, whose set was built atop the ice. On this occasion, the program was exceptionally renamed Télé-Dimanche sur glace (lit. 'Sunday TV on Ice'). Several popular singers of the day performed their current hits on ice skates, including Claude François ("Il fait beau, il fait bon") and Sylvie Vartan ("Non je ne suis plus la même"), although most appeared to lip sync.

On 25 April 1974, the ice rink hosted a major rally for presidential candidate Jacques Chaban-Delmas, in presence of fellow politicians like André Malraux and Michel Debré, as well as celebrities such as TV host Guy Lux. This happened to be the first political rally attended by future president Nicolas Sarkozy, and inspired him to pursue a political career.

Notable events

• French Figure Skating Championships (1956–1967, 1969, 1970, 1974)
• French Ice Dancing Championships (1971)
• Boston Bruins–New York Rangers European tour, Games 5 and 6 (1959)
• Coupe Jean-Potin (1960)
• Ice hockey Coupe de France Final (2000)

Swimming pool

History

The swimming pool is located immediately to the west of the ice rink. It was built between 1961 and 1962, and inaugurated on 1 November 1962. It was originally the property of multisports club Stade Français, although the organization faced financial problems at the end of the 1960s and there were talks of closing it. Stade Français eventually sold the venue, which became city-owned, and relocated to the new Centre Charras in Courbevoie in 1973.

In the 1980s, the pool hosted the Meeting International de Natation de la F.F.N., successively title-sponsored by swimwear brands Arena and Diana Sport, which was described as the world's most important short course meet at the time. In 2014, former Olympic champion swimmer Laure Manaudou hosted the debut fashion show of her swimwear brand LM Design at the venue.

Design

Beginning in 1957, the base concrete design was laid out by architects fr:Henri-Pierre Maillard and Paul Ducamp of Atelier d’architecture MD, who cornered a large segment of the market during France's post World War II swimming pool boom. In 1960, engineer fr:Stéphane Du Chateau joined the project and added his proprietary Système SDC, a metal arch system previously used at the Grandval Dam. The resulting design was considered an evolutionary step towards the popular Tournesol model that would become ubiquitous in the ensuing years. In its original configuration, the building housed an eight-lane, 33-metre pool on its main floor, inside a square-shaped 40 × 40 metre hall. A mobile wall separated a typically 25-metre long competition area from a smaller teaching area. A small slide was also on offer. A lower level featuring a sauna and a multisports room, from which portholes originally allowed a view of the adjacent underwater area.

The facility received a major restructuring between 2001 and 2003, estimated at €16 million, under architect Thierry Nabères of Paris-based firm TNA Architectes, in conjunction with a refurbishment of the neighboring ice rink. On this occasion, the original pool was shortened from 33 to 25 metre. The remaining area was fitted with a separate play pool, part of which extends outside. A new building was also built from scratch: the street level offers a second 25-metre, five-lane pool and children's areas, while a new 50-metre slide replaces the original. The operation took the overall water surface from 660 m² (7,100 sq ft) to 1,260 m² (13,600 sq ft). The upper floor is dedicated to a spa and a fitness center.

Notable events

• Meeting International de Natation de la F.F.N. (19??–????)

References