2024-08-13 12:59:35
In our summer series on stadiums, today we look at the Parc des Princes. The legendary home of the Paris Saint-Germain football club, this huge concrete building that was inaugurated in 1972 is located near the ring road, which encircles the capital. It can receive more than forty-two thousand viewers. It was not enough for club president Nasser Al-Khelaïfi. He wanted to buy the park to expand it, but Paris Hall, the current owner, refused to sell. A conflict with policy, economy, but also high AMI issues.
The songs of Parisians resonate in the concrete enclosure. Passionate supporters cannot imagine PSG without the Parc des Princes, a collection of their precious memories, both happy and sad. Bastien Stisi, fan from the beginning:
“I have a lot, a lot, a lot of love for this stadium that we haven’t seen, which really stands out in a city that we’re all really close to. The Parc des Princes, I have the impression that we have seen it from all angles. I am convinced by the fact that we are in the Park. I’m pretty sure it’s still called Parc des Princes and not Emirates Parc, I don’t know what. It’s really a place I love. »
However, Qatari money, the main shareholder of the club since 2011, threatened to put PSG elsewhere. Last January, President Nasser Al-Khelaïfi told the press:
“We know what we want, it’s over for us. »
It’s over for them: buy or leave. You must be the owner to do the stadium expansion project. A project involving twelve thousand more seats, meaning better income on match nights.
Read againSoccer: PSG “want to move” from the Parc des Princes, new tensions with Paris Saint-Germain
Arm wrestling with Anne Hidalgo
For his part, the mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, refused to give up this precious land, in an area where one meter is worth around ten euros. Department, he refused to sell the capital property.
Which has the gift of rebellious PSG supporters, especially the Ultra Paris group. Last February, during a match against the Lille team, LOSC, they chanted “ Hidalgo, submission! ». « Without PSG, Park no longer has a prince », we can read on a banner.
The conflict cannot be resolved, Guillaume Gouze, an economic consultant who specializes in stadiums:
“From the beginning, in the strategy of Paris Saint-Germain Qatar, there was this idea of becoming the master and owner of the Parc des Princes to make the stadium appear on its balance sheet, thus increasing the cost of the club and others part of exempting body from public supervision in order to have a stadium. »
« What happened to the Parc des Princes without PSG? »
So PSG initially evaluated the possibility of moving to the Stade de France, used for the Blues national team. The option was abandoned in January, criticized by supporters and not really economic.
So the solution is to write. But you have to find the land: at least fifty hectares, at least twenty kilometers from Paris.
This upcoming departure also raises the question of the future of the Parc des Princes, Guillaume Gouze continued:
“What happens to the Parc des Princes without PSG? There is no longer a residential center, it is back in the hands of the city of Paris, there are high maintenance costs. Do you want to do something else? Is another team coming to play there? If yes, which one? This is the real public administration problem that the city of Paris should face. »
Supporter songs may be played in the suburbs in the future. The question: Will we hear them all the way to Paris, in other words, PSG will be the club of the capital…
Read againFootball: “PSG will not leave the Parc des Princes”, according to the Paris city hall
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