Belgium/Mons: Walloon Region grants 30 million euros to renovate and develop the ADEPS "La Sapinette" center

As part of the Walloon Region's stimulus package, a budget of thirty million euros will be devoted to the renovation and development of the ADEPS "La Sapinette" sports center in Mons. The site has been training young athletes in tennis and gymnastics for 30 and 15 years respectively, and the ambition is to make it a center of excellence.

A dilapidated infrastructure

Since Steve Darcis, Justine Henin and David Goffin moved to "La Sapinette", nothing has really changed. The aging buildings are no longer really suited to major sporting ambitions, just as the lack of accommodation for boarders has become a hindrance to the development of certain new talents.

According to Jacqueline Quirin-Herbrand, President of the French-speaking Gymnastics Federation, "We detect talent, but we can no longer accommodate it here, as we are already overcrowded. Today, the hall as it stands does not meet all international requirements, so we have to travel to Ghent, at our own expense, to carry out national tests".

New buildings

On completion of the works, the gymnasts will benefit from a brand-new hall of over 2,000 square metres, equipped with the video equipment needed to analyze the performances of athletes in training. On the tennis side, the number of courts will be increased from 12 to 16, with the addition of an indoor clay court. It requires more work in terms of the quality of leg placement and also in terms of stroke patterns, which are much longer", enthuses Thierry Van Cleemput, Technical Director of Tennis Padel Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles and ex-coach of David Goffin.

According to the Walloon Minister for Sports Infrastructure, Adrien Dolimont, the project is due to be completed by the end of 2027. Two other sites, in Lièges and Louvain-la-Neuve, will also benefit from funding totalling 90 million euros.

Source: www.rtbf.be/