Palais des sports Pierre-Mendès-France

The Palais des sports Pierre-Mendès-France sits in the heart of Grenoble, tucked inside the Parc Paul-Mistral. It was not designed for a single sport but for everything that could fit under a roof that was lost and rebuilt.

Construction began in November 1966. The roof that sheltered those events burned down in 1985, which cancelled the Six Days of Grenoble cycling event and shut the doors for months. The city managed the venue from 2015, and the work since has been quiet: new lights, extra seats, and heating that keeps the air moving. The surface changes depending on what is playing. When ice is laid, it is a hockey rink; when the ice melts away, it is a wooden floor for basketball or handball.

The capacity has shifted over time. At its opening in 1967, the grandstands held 12,000 people before the velodrome track was added. Today the numbers sit closer to 9,000, though the exact count depends on whether the floor is fitted for standing or seating. The highest number ever recorded here was 15,000, set during a basketball final in 1979.

Football fans remember the ground as the old home of Grenoble Foot 38, before the Stade des Alpes took over the city's primary team. The ice hockey side, the Grenoble Brûleurs de Loups, still uses the space, as does the Valence Drôme Handball team. The building has hosted more than sport: the 1982 Davis Cup final and the 1972 European Athletics Indoor Championships both passed through here.

It is an indoor arena.