French champions Paris Saint-Germain confirmed on Friday that they are racing for the Stade de France, the centerpiece of next summer’s Olympics.
The French government has launched tenders to find a buyer at a price of around 600 million euros ($635 million) for the 81,500-seat stadium, the largest in France, whose lease expires on July 1, 2025.
PSG’s announcement follows a hitherto unsuccessful bid by the club’s Qatari owners to buy the Parc des Princes, which has been its home for nearly 50 years, from the Paris City Council in order to be able to expand it.
“We are candidates for the Stade de France,” a PSG source said, confirming a report by French sports daily L’Equipe, adding that he had not yet applied.
The cost of the Stade de France, built for the 1998 World Cup final, was estimated by the French government at 647 million euros in 2021.
The current lease has been in the hands of a consortium of French business groups Vinci and Bouygues since 1995.
Sports Minister Amélie Oudéa-Castera said a sale of the national stadium is possible, as well as a new operating lease.
The application deadline is April 27, and applications will be considered next year for a possible transfer of the stadium in 2025.
PSG currently play at the 48,500 capacity Parc des Princes, which has been its home since 1974.
The club signed a 30-year lease for the park in 2014 but recently said it would try to find a new home if it failed to buy the stadium from the Paris City Council.
The current leaders of Ligue 1 want to upgrade the stadium significantly, but only after they get full ownership.
Paris Saint-Germain president Nasser Al-Khelaifi revealed last November that the club had submitted an offer to buy the Parc des Princes, which had been rejected due to the price being below the board’s asking price.
Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo told Le Parisien newspaper that the stadium was “not for sale” but added that she could work with PSG on possible renovations if the Parc des Princes remained in council ownership.
PSG wants to increase the capacity of the Parc des Princes to 58,000 seats, with renovations estimated at around 500 million euros.
This remains PSG’s preferred option, with the Stade de France acquisition the second option. The third option is to build a new stadium near Poissy, a town in the western suburbs of Paris.
If PSG receive a tender to buy the Stade de France, they will have to share the complex with other players, including hosting matches organized by the French football and rugby federations.
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Source: sports.yahoo.com
