With raised arms on stage, Jean-Pierre Rivière had a happier Sunday than the 4-0 of PSG inflicted the day before at the Allianz Riviera. The president of OGC Nice will soon officially be named as “Special Advisor to the Mayor and the President of the Metropole” following Eric Ciotti’s victory in the race for the mayor of Nice, but that’s not a reason to leave the sports field. At least not right away promises the 68-year-old entrepreneur who seems to succeed in everything he undertakes. A good omen for his club’s survival mission.
President, does this victory in the elections mean you are leaving the club this summer to focus on that role?
I came back for a mission: survival. It is underway, and we are also preparing for the future for next year knowing that it will be challenging financially with TV rights being very low, around 7 million euros, I believe. We need to adapt, return to a less expensive club model, that’s our mission with Maurice (Cohen, the vice-president). The recent election does not change anything on this matter. I manage both activities in parallel as I imagined, there is no modification to the original plan.
“Ineos could still be around for a few years, maybe there will be a sale, I have no visibility on that.”
Could this dual role be beneficial in discussions with potential buyers?
There is currently a bank (Lazard ndlr) taking care of that, I am a bit external to it. Ineos could still be around for a few years, maybe there will be a sale, I have no visibility on that. One thing is certain, Ineos compensates for the club’s losses each year, and they are significant.
Can you assure today that OGC Nice will not lose its stadium for the 2030 Winter Olympics?
We don’t have all the information we want yet. I think this will be done starting next week. I believe that technically, the final validation of the stadium’s coverage has not been approved. I think we will know more in the next 15 days. But in any case, regarding the use of the Allianz Riviera, the overall cost between the City, the Metropole, and the Department will be much higher than what is being announced. We will have the figures and everything we need to work properly, but I consider that the use of the Allianz Riviera will be a subject on which we will do everything to ensure that OGC Nice is not impacted.
By building the Olympic village on the P1-bis, is that still a possibility?
We still need to give ourselves time, once again we lack information today. I repeat, we have had zero information since the launch of this Olympic project except for what we read in the press. We need to examine all this in detail. There is an urgency, we want the Olympics, there is no problem on that point. But we want it to be done in the best possible way. We need about fifteen days to have a clearer position on that.
