The Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines urban authority has signed a contract with the Vélopolis consortium⁽¹⁾, which consists of a number of Bouygues Construction subsidiaries alongside the Méridiam investment fund, for the construction of a brand new velodrome. In the form of a public-private partnership, the contract covers the finance, design and construction of a sports facility dedicated to cycling, as well as operation and maintenance for a period of 30 years (74 million euros for the works).

The cornerstone of the sports facility, the velodrome has been designed by the Chabanne firm of architects. It will accommodate up to 5,000 spectators, 3,500 of them in fixed seating, and will incorporate the world's first 250-metre long, 8-metre wide cycle track with a constant radius of 23 metres. The track has been designed by Ralph Schuermann, one of the world's foremost designers of cycle tracks. The French Cycling Federation will install its headquarters in the building.
The project also includes the construction of the first covered BMX track in Europe, as well as accommodation facilities and a restaurant to enable elite sportsmen and women and their coaches to train under the best possible conditions.
When it has come into operation, Vélopolis will accomodate roughly fifty events per year, including sports competitions, leisure activities, seminars, conventions, etc.

In both the construction and operation phases, the entire project will abide by the principle of sustainable development: 

•    Modelling of the energy consumption of the velodrome with the use of dynamic thermal simulations (optimisation of energy needs and consumption according to the facility's cycles of operation).

•    Integrated rainwater management: a series of landscaped ditches and basins will help make the site more attractive and improve the immediate surroundings. 

•    Limitation of drinking water consumption: the rainwater collected will provide water for the hosing circuit for the 23,000m² BMX track and for watering the gardens, saving more than 3,000m3 of drinking water per year (equivalent to the annual water consumption of 4,000people)

•    Protection for wildlife, with wooded areas providing shelter.

•    Impact of the project on the local economy: local small and medium-size enterprises will be strongly involved in the project and the development of the district will ultimately result in the creation of 500new jobs.
  
The project is being carried out alongside a 35,000 m² property development programme which will mainly consist in the construction of a hotel, accommodation for students and research workers, offices and shops.

Since completing the Parc des Princes in 1972, Bouygues Construction has been responsible for building over a hundred sports facilities, both in France and internationally. These include the Hong Kong national stadium (1996), the Stade de France (1997) and the Budapest Sports Arena (2003). The Group recently handed over the Nelspruit stadium in South Africa, to be used during the football World Cup in June 2010. 
  
⁽¹⁾ The Vélopolis consortium is made up of several subsidiaries of Bouygues Construction - Bouygues Bâtiment Ile-de-France, Sodéarif (property development), DTP Terrassement (earthworks), Exprimm (facilities management) and Elan (project management) - along with Méridiam (a Crédit Agricole subsidiary specialised in investments in PPP projects), Vega (theatre, sports arena, leisure facility and convention and exhibition centre management), Agence TER (landscaping), the Chabanne firm of architects and Ralph Schuermann (an architect specialising in velodromes and cycle tracks).