Le palais

Here’s some information about the history of this iconic Megève facility, a major sport and well-being hub for nearly half a century.

During the 1950s, Mégeve’s elected representatives came up with the idea of offering a wider range of leisure activities and developing a large sports facility for the area. Architects Edmond Fontayne and Maurice Novarina devised a centre that offered both summer and winter activities. This innovative project was approved in 1963. The Sports Centre was inaugurated in 1969…

In the decades that followed, the number of activities on offer expanded to accommodate new sporting practices. In addition to the ice-rink and covered pool, the centre now has indoor and covered tennis courts, a convention centre, an outdoor Olympic size pool and gym.
In 2003, the focus shifted to culture with the opening of the Media Library and a 140 seater auditorium. 2013 saw the opening of the Spa.

December 2016. The Palais des Sports centre has expanded yet again! A balneotherapy-fitness pool and outdoor water play area with slides and paddling pools has further enhanced the aquatic centre. The gym has become a genuine fitness centre with different activity zones and the latest machines. The refurbished climbing room features dozens of routes and more than 5,500 climbing grips.
The Palais des Sports centre is now the largest indoor leisure complex in the Alps, extending over some 30,000 m².

The Municipality of Megève is very concerned about the environment, and committed to using renewable energy at an early stage to reduce running costs and the environmental impact of the Palais sports centre.

A hydroelectric turbine in installed in the basement. The turbine, which is fed by excess water, abstracted locally, produces electricity which is used to power the building directly.
Heat pumps draw calories from the water passing through the turbine which are then used to provide the Media Library with heating and air-conditioning.

Heat generated by the ice-rink’s refrigeration systems is recovered and used to heat water for the indoor and outdoor pools, the gymnasium and covered tennis courts. The system is so efficient that even in mid winter, the temperature of the outdoor Olympic pool doesn’t fall below 10°C!
On the roof, 68 m² of solar thermal panels produce hot water for the cloakrooms in the Media Library and the rink’s ice-resurfacer.
And 32 m² of photovoltaic panels generate electricity that directly powers the Palais.