Lyon Olympique Universitaire Rugby was founded in 1896. It is better known by its nickname LOU rugby. The club has 1,300 members and a professional football team that competes in the Top 14. The club is an important part of Lyon's economic environment. It employs over 100 people and is a major provider of employment for the territory. He helps to revitalize the territory thanks to Matmut Stadium, which was once Gerland Stadium. It is the club's base camp. This has been "a place to live", Yann Roubert, president of LOU Rugby, describes it.
"The Matmut Stadium is at the heart of what we like calling the 'LOU attitude. It's a crossroads of trades with a hotel and brasserie, as well as 20,000m2 of offices. There are many other developments that show the club's determination to build connections with its ecosystem. The LOU launched the Pack, a sport start-up accelerator, in keeping with its original mission. It is located near the Matmut Stadium and has been operating since January 2021.
It plays a vital role in the local economy, but the club also seeks to establish links with other clubs at the national level through the Les Leaders community, which is managed by Bpifrance. Bpifrance has supported nearly 55 French sports clubs through this community. Its purpose is to bring them together and allow them to form connections with other companies that are supported by the development and financing organization. Yann Roubert says, "What I like about the Leaders community, is the exchange, sharing, and that it allows with counterparts from different regions, and other sports." It's a wonderful way to absorb great ideas.
Each year, the community meets to present their projects and to hear interventions that are suited to the management of clubs. After these interventions, informal exchanges take place. A sports club is both a team and a business. The president of LOU says that one cannot go without the other and that's why these exchanges can be so valuable. The Leaders community also has other highlights like the Innove Ton Club Day, which brings together innovators in the sport world.
The LOU maintains close ties to the Bpifrance Excellence network outside of this framework. The LOU rugby hosts, at Matmut Stadium in Melbourne, events that bring together growth companies that Bpifrance funds. This is a great way to connect many actors from both local and national ecosystems.
