PSG drops interest in Stade de France

Article posted by Coliseum, January 12^th, 2024

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Paris St Germain has withdrawn its interest in acquiring the iconic Stade de France, despite showing interest in taking over the stadium last year.

PSG Post said the club’s Qatari owner, QSI, is now looking to focus on other projects, including the expansion of Parc des Princes or building a new stadium.

The Parc des Princes is an all-seater football stadium in Paris, France. It is located to the South-West of the French capital, inside the 16^th arrondissement, near the 19,904-capacity Stade Jean-Bouin and Stade Roland Garros. The stadium, with a seating capacity of 47,929 spectators has been the home of football club Paris Saint-Germain since 1974.

The Stade de France is the national stadium of France, located just North of Paris in the commune of Saint-Denis. Its seating capacity of 80,698 makes it the sixth-largest stadium in Europe. The stadium is used by the France national football team and the France rugby union team for international competition.

Citing Le Parisien, PSG Post said the decision was influenced by the arrival of the American investment fund Arctos, and comes after a detailed evaluation by QSI, which revealed complexities and constraints in the Stade de France deal.

QSI was also said to be at loggerheads with Arctos about the potential investment.

The Stade de France is set to host the 2024 Olympics closing ceremony and is seeking a new owner from July 2025, following a 30-year concession by the State to the Vinci-Bouygues consortium.

The State requires applicants to meet several criteria. In particular, the maintenance of “the sporting vocation of Stade for a period of 25 years”. And, therefore, prioritize the hosting of matches of the XV of France, major international events, etc.

Interested parties had until recently to submit applications to Fin Infra, the financing support mission under the General Directorate of the Treasury, PSG included.

Ligue 1 club PSG’s withdrawal stems from the complexity of the Stade de France deal and a preference to focus on acquiring and expanding the Parc des Princes, or building a new stadium.

The nation’s valuation of the Stade de France has been set at €647 million, although that figure does not reflect its real cost as it doesn’t factor in the needed additional costs for renovations in order to adapt the stadium for a weekly use at the top-tier of professional sports.

PSG Post further stated that any expansion of the Parc des Princes would increase the capacity of the venue up to nearly 60,000 seats with an estimated cost exceeding €500 million.

However, PSG’s lack of ownership of the Parc des Princes, where they’ve played since 1974, hampers their development plans unless they acquire the stadium in full.

QSI had recently considered buying the stadium, but the move was met with stiff opposition from Paris City Council and the Mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, as the City Council maintained that the club was offering “peanuts money” to buy the stadium.

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