Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Sporting Casino in Soorts-Hossegor, built between 1927 and 1932, is an iconic building of the Landes coast, combining casino and sports complex. Designed by architects Henri Godbarge and Louis Gomez, with decorator Benjamin Gomez, it embodies the neobasque style revisited with Art Deco influences. This reinforced concrete building, innovative for the time, incorporates a variety of facilities: playrooms, cinema, dancing, swimming pool, tennis courts, and Basque pelote frontons. It symbolizes the evolution of the seaside resorts in the 1920s and 1930s, where sports and leisure became central to the resorts.

Partially damaged during World War II, the casino was restored and reopened in 1948. His future was uncertain between 1966 and 1969, before becoming municipal property again. Since then, modernization work has preserved its activity. The building is listed in the Historic Monuments in 1991 for its facades, roofs, interior decorations (stairs, lounge-bar, baccara hall) and exterior elements (pool, steps, frontons).

The architecture of the Sporting Casino marks a manifesto of neo-regionalism, combining traditional Basque and Dutch motifs with a modern aesthetic. Henri Godbarge demonstrates that vernacular elements (red wood, white walls, steep roofs) can adapt to a large building. The Gomez brothers cared for the interiors, while the sculptor Lucien Danglade made bas-reliefs representing ball players and wrestlers. Suzanne Labatut's murals evoking sea pines and Hossegor lake reinforce local anchoring.

The complex is organized around two perpendicular wings surrounding the sports grounds, with stands for spectators. The diagonal access, emphasized by a monumental staircase, highlights the perspective of the building. Originally built for the Société Immobilière et Artistique d-Hossegor, then for the Société des Hôtels et Bains de Mer, it illustrates the tourist ambition of the resort. Among the four casinos on the Dutch coast (with Biscarrosse, Mimizan and Capbreton), it stands out for its hybrid program, combining classic entertainment and innovative sports facilities.

Post-Second World War alterations have altered some spaces, such as the suppression of cinema-dancing. Despite these transformations, the Sporting Casino remains a major testimony of the 1930s' seaside architecture, reflecting the evolution of resort practices. Its inscription in the Historical Monuments today protects a heritage that is both playful, sporting and artistic, inseparable from the identity of Hossegor.

External links