The Story Behind the Birth of RE.PLACE!

The empty stadium that filled us with ideas! 

The idea for RE.PLACE was born one afternoon in May 2019, in front of Roland Garros. While watching a broadcast match, I noticed that many seats were empty on the Philippe Chatrier court, especially in the lower part of the stadium, even though it was only 6 PM. Roland Garros was sold out, but undeniably, half the stadium was empty.

At first, I didn’t react, just observed. Then, seeing the people at the top of the stadium clapping, cheering, standing up, waving flags… while the lower part was mostly empty, almost inert, I wondered why they didn’t move these passionate fans down to the empty seats. It seemed completely backwards.

I couldn’t get it out of my head; it became an obsession. So, I looked into it a bit more to understand, and I realized that “empty seats” had been a recurring issue at Roland Garros. Since 2012, numerous articles have addressed this observation through criticisms from players and spectators. So, it was nothing new, but the problem was still very much there.☝️

What if it was just a matter of relocating a few spectators

I decided to call Gaëtan to talk about the issue and the idea that was starting to form💡. If anyone is pragmatic and could quickly tell me if this idea was feasible, it’s him. We talked for a good hour and concluded that there was definitely something worth exploring. Beyond the idea, there was a mechanism to crack, a business model to develop and propose, for the benefit of as many people as possible. ✌️

Within a few days, it was done. We just needed to test it in the real world, and who better than the FFT (French Tennis Federation) itself? After a few phone calls, we set up a meeting. We presented our concept, the mechanism, and even a first prototype, and guess what, they were thrilled! 🎯

But liking an idea is not the same as saying it’s perfect. Naturally, they challenged us on many aspects and set a second meeting. After many hours of work and reflection, we finally got there, and the FFT confirmed their interest. RE.PLACE was born, and since then, the journey we embarked on has continued to take us to new horizons.

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