Featured image credit: Azusa Sekkei
Paris Entertainment Company (PEC) is taking its expertise in operating, designing and creating venues overseas through the striking of a formal partnership with Japanese architecture firm, Azusa Sekkei.
PEC operates the Accor Arena, adidas arena and Bataclan in the French capital and is now structuring its consulting business internationally. The strategic positioning is envisioned to enable the company to share its know-how in economic and commercial strategy and management of arenas abroad, particularly in Japan.
The world’s second-largest music market, Japan is experiencing sustained growth in live sports and entertainment. A broad program of infrastructure construction and renovation has been launched to address two major objectives.
Firstly, to host more international artists and promote world-class shows; and secondly, to meet the new requirements of the Japanese National Basketball League, which now mandates that top division teams play in arenas with a minimum capacity of 5,000 spectators.
PEC said these developments present it with a strategic opportunity. Several Japanese delegations have visited the Accor Arena and adidas arena, which opened in Paris in February 2024, in recent months to draw inspiration from innovative models of transformation and operation.
Against this backdrop, PEC and Azusa Sekkei have decided to formalise their collaboration. The partnership aims to pool the expertise of both companies to support Azusa Sekkei with arena construction and/or renovation programs in Japan, leveraging PEC’s strategic consultancy services, which are already provided to other industry players in the country.
In France, the pact is designed to enable Azusa Sekkei to deepen its understanding of the French large-scale infrastructure market and position itself for tenders in this domain.
Paris Entertainment Company said: “PEC aims to become a global benchmark in supporting the development of sports and entertainment infrastructures, meeting the growing demands of a rapidly expanding market.
“This collaboration will allow us to explore promising business opportunities together, with the ambition of supporting the growth of sports and cultural infrastructure in Japan, guided by a commitment to excellence that aligns with the values of Paris Entertainment Company.
“A first step that positions the group as a leading Parisian operator, ready to expand into new horizons.”
PEC announced last month that Accor Arena will host a two-day sumo event next year, as the Japanese sport continues its expansion into overseas territories.
The Paris Sumo Tournament will take place on June 13-14, 2026 and will celebrate the historic ties between France and Japan. Accor Arena hosted the most recent sumo event in France, back in 1995. Next year’s event will be organised by sports promoter David Rothschild in collaboration with AEG Presents France.
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