The Oldest Basketball Court in Paris
There lies a sleeping sporting giant in the centre of Paris. The oldest basketball court in Europe dating back to 1893, can be found at the local Young Men’s Christian Association (Y.M.C.A) or Union Chrétienne de Jeunes Gens (U.C.J.G) in France. The court, located in the city’s 9th arrondissement, is in desperate need of maintenance. Despite the recent surge in basketball’s popularity in France, the 126 year-old court has been relegated to the bench.
Signs in the U.C.J.G building direct visitors toward the “Gymnasium” in a tired and worn blue font against a yellowing background. A dated plaque above the court proudly announces that the court is where the first basketball game took place in Europe, just two years after the game was invented in the United States by James Naismith.
Photos illustrate the venue’s most striking feature: the floor. The original herringbone parquet flooring is fragile and rests on a layer of sand meant to cushion players’ movements. The tessellated wooden slats have grown increasingly uneven and worn down. So the doors of the U.C.J.G court remain firmly closed to the public year round, with the exception of the national heritage days in France.
The community centre launched a GoFundMe page in May 2018, with the floor as the centrepiece of the fundraising campaign. Over a year later, they have raised a modest €7000 out of a goal of €80,000. The appeal highlights the floor as a priority but reiterates that the entire gymnasium needs to be refurbished. Nike also simultaneously launched a fundraising campaign by crafting two extremely limited edition sneakers (only 400 pairs produced), designed to reflect the spirit of the U.C.J.G court. Each pair sold at €110 and all profits were directed towards restoring the gymnasium.
The historical sporting landmark is easily eclipsed by the fluorescent lights and gigantic posters of the Theatre de Trévise with whom the U.C.J.G shares the building.The two organisations share one roof but operate as two completely separate entities independent of one another. A couple of receptionists from the theatre impatiently usher visitors toward the correct U.C.J.G door. On weekends, the large Haussmann-style building is virtually derelict with only a few voices of rehearsing actors heard upstairs and a woman quietly snoring on a sofa in the corner.
The court on rue de Trévise is the birthplace of basketball in France, yet very few have actually even heard of it. The Pigalle court in Paris is a popular choice among young street basketball fans. Friends Alexandra Maurel and Louis Amadoi enjoy playing pickup basketball games there each week. The pair had never heard of the U.C.J.G court and had “no idea something so cool existed in Paris”. The friends say there are limited choices of public courts for street basketball enthusiasts outside of formal clubs. Nonetheless, they enjoy playing. “Basketball is so easy,” says Louis, “You just need a ball and one friend, or even just by yourself, and you can get a full cardio workout.”
The Rio de Janeiro-esque tropical hues of the Pigalle basketball court and the iconic Eiffel Tower backdrop at the Bir-Hakeim court are filled with young basketball hopefuls and dedicated players. The popular Quai 54 street basketball championship has been drawing large crowds of over 5000 people to the centre of Paris every June for the past 15 years. Hoops Factory, a modern basketball facility in the Parisian suburb of Aubervilliers, say they have seen a growth in attendance over the last year. “The growth of the NBA’s visibility here in France has really drawn in new customers,” says Khasi Saleem who works at the venue.
The big leagues in American sports continue to expand to international venues in the hopes of further growing their international fanbase. In January 2020, Paris will host a regular season NBA game for the first time between the Charlotte Hornets and the Milwaukee Bucks at AccorHotels Arena in Bercy with a capacity of just over 20,000 seats. Out of about 500 NBA players for the 2019–20 season, 11 are French which is more than any other European country. France is the third biggest exporter of basketball players abroad (after the USA and Spain respectively) according to a FIBA study. Names like Tony Parker and Evan Fournier are cornerstones in French basketball.
The number of registered players with the French Federation of Basketball (FFBB) has grown from about 660,000 in 2017 to around 670,00 in 2018, says FFBB. This marks the ninth consecutive annual increase. The same report indicated that basketball in schools also continues to grow with 138,000 children playing in registered clubs. The increase in school licenses with the FFBB have accounted for the recent big surge in numbers, with 17.3% of the growth in players coming from schools. It also ranks as the number one women’s team sport in France, according to recent statistics from the International Federation of Basketball Associations.
However, basketball still faces steep competition when it comes to the sport of choice for the French. Out of 1000 people surveyed only 7% of French respondents said they prefer to play basketball according to a 2017 Statista study. Comparatively, 30% of respondents said hiking, 21% said rugby and 20% said football. Work remains for basketball to escape the long shadow of other sports that have long dominated public support.
The lack of media publicity means the future of the U.C.J.G court remains uncertain and the progress on refurbishment slow. The court, an anchor in basketball’s heritage in France, is sinking into obscurity. However, with the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics on the horizon, a new wind is blowing into the sails of basketball’s popularity in France.
