Industry News
Four-time NBA champion Tony Parker and current teammate Nicolas Batum recently announced that they bought two ski resorts in the southern French Alps, reports Reuters.
The two French players, together with former French female basketball-player Marie-Sophie Obama, bought a 76.9% stake in SEVLC, a local company that runs two ski resorts in Villard-de-Lans and Correncon-en-Vercors in the southern French Alps.
“The goal is to spend time here, to spend Christmas holidays here,” Tony Parker said at a press conference in Villard-de-Lans.
The 36-year-old Parker has made no secret that his departure from the San Antonio Spurs, after 17-years, to the Charlotte Hornets this season was the final stage of his career, and the investment in the ski resorts is part of a move to prepare his retirement.
“When I’ll retire this summer or the next, I’ll have more time to see what we can do here,” he told reporters.
The Belgium-born son of a US professional basket player, Parker was raised in France and was drafted in 2001 by the Spurs, playing for them until 2018 and winning the NBA championship four times. Parker ended his stint in San Antonio this season to join Batum in Charlotte.
Local authorities expect the fame of the resorts’ new owners will make the place more popular and help bring more tourists.
Although Parker does not ski, since his professional contracts prevent him from practicing the sport to avoid injuries, he said his wife and children are keen skiers.
