The Stade de France is the largest stadium in France, a national sports pride. It is here that the French national football team plays its most important matches. Rugby matches are also played here.
Stadium history
The Stade de France, with a capacity of 80,000 people, was built in 1998 for the World Cup, because another metropolitan stadium (Parc de Princes) could not accommodate more than 50,000 fans.
Construction began three years before the significant date, in 1995, and it lasted 31 months. The grand opening on January 28, 1998 showed that France received a modern, well-equipped stadium, which can also serve as a world-class concert venue.
It opened with a friendly match between France and Spain. Then Zinedine Zidane scored the only goal of the match.
During the 1998 FIFA World Cup, the Stade de France hosted nine games, including matches between the national teams of Brazil and Scotland (score 2: 1). In the semi-finals, France and Croatia fought for the title of the best (the hosts won with a score of 2: 1), and in the final, France overtook the Brazilian team (3-0).
The stadium has hosted two Champions League finals, the first in 2000 between Real Madrid and Valencia (3-0) and the second in 2006 between Barcelona and Arsenal (2:1).
The next World Cup will take place here in 2016.
Stadium tours
For football fans and just tourists, the management offers to take a short tour of the Stade de France stadium. It will be possible to visit the presidential box, see the locker rooms, where people are worried before the match famous athletes, go through the players' tunnel, and also visit the museum, which is dedicated to the construction of the stadium and the famous sporting events of the world championships. The tour lasts about an hour, and then another 30 minutes you can wander around the museum.
Tours run every day of the week except Mondays between September 1st and March 31st. In the summer months, visiting is allowed from 10:00 to 17:00, and in winter from 11:00 to 11:00, and then from 15:00 to 17:00. Tours are held on English language, the cost of one ticket is € 15.00. But you need to be careful: the day before sporting event, as well as the whole day after it, the stadium is closed for tourists. Tickets can be booked through the Stade de France website, but can often be purchased directly upon arrival in Saint-Denis.
How to get to the Stade de France
The address of the stadium is Stade de France, 93216 Saint-Denis (Saint-Denis), which is about 3 kilometers north of the Paris border. Near the stadium in the immediate vicinity there are two highways:
- A1, which goes from the center of the capital to the suburbs, and then follows south.
— A86. Follow line 9 for Saint-Denis - La Plaine - Stade de France.
Can be reached by metro or RER lines B and D from Ch?telet stations with exit to La Plaine Stade de France - 10 minutes drive, and Gare de Nord with exit to (Stade de France Saint Denis) - 5 minutes drive.
Metro line 13 connects Montparnasse and the stadium, Les Invalides and Saint-Lazare. Travel time will take no more than a quarter of an hour.
Where to stay?
If you are going to a match or want to attend a colorful pop star show like 
Mylène Farmer (she performed here in 2009, plans to give a few more concerts in Saint-Denis), you should know that you can comfortably and inexpensively stay near the stadium.
The Novotel hotel is located opposite the stadium, but the prices per night correspond to the location - € 100.00. Service is top notch. At the same price offer accommodation and hotels Ibis (Ibis Hotel) and Adagio Access (Adagio Access).
If the guest is accustomed to reasonable savings, then it is better to opt for the Campanile Hotel, but you will have to walk to the stadium. Something in between in terms of price is the Courtyard by Marriott. There are many cafes in the suburbs, restaurants at hotels have a good menu.
"Stade de France" is considered the largest in France, it is a national sporting treasure and pride. Here the French football team arranges their major matches. Rugby matches are held at the same stadium. This multifunctional arena is located in the commune of Saint-Denis, in the northern suburbs of the French capital. In terms of capacity, this stadium ranks sixth on the European continent: it can accommodate more than 81,000 spectators.
The history of the world famous stadium
The Stade de France was built in 1998. Its construction was timed to coincide with the World Cup. There is another arena in Paris - the Parc des Princes, but it is supposed to receive no more than 50 thousand guests. Therefore, it was decided to build a sports complex that would be able to accommodate 80 or more thousand people.
The construction of the Stade de France (Paris) began in 1995 - three years before the cherished date. It lasted over 30 months. At the end of January 1998, the grand opening of the arena took place. At the opening ceremony, journalists, fans, athletes and top officials of France saw that the country received an excellently equipped sports complex, which can also be a concert venue of world significance.
The opening of the stadium "Stade de France" was accompanied by a friendly match between the national teams of Spain and France. It was during it that the only legendary goal in the match was scored by Zinedine Zidane. During the 1998 World Cup, the arena hosted nine matches, in addition, a couple of Champions League finals were held here. 2016 was also held at this stadium.
Arena construction
It was extremely difficult to find a place to build an arena in the vicinity of Paris, so it was decided to build the Stade de France stadium in the suburbs of the metropolis. It was originally planned to place the complex in Melun Senar, but the organizers of the World Cup received many complaints that it would be too far away. So the decision was made to build a future attraction at the burial place of the French kings - in Saint-Denis.
On the territory of the abandoned gas developments, construction work began on the construction of the stadium. Several French architects became the ideologists of the arena project. Their names are known to many. These are Rejambal Michel, Claude Constantine, Michel Macari and Eymeric Zublen. In the design of the complex, the influence of the Roman Colosseum is felt.
The designers did everything in such a way that, if necessary, one of the stands of the stadium can be dismantled. This is necessary when it is necessary to make room for the arrangement of running tracks and athletics sectors. The lower rows of stands in the arena are movable and can be easily removed. The stadium will have a capacity of 70,000 spectators. The architects also provided a collapsible roof over the stadium, which protects athletes and fans from various weather phenomena.
The construction of the stadium cost 285 million euros.
The Stade de France is the only arena on the planet that has hosted the Rugby and Football World Cups.
On May 9, 2009, a record attendance of the complex was recorded. Then the final of the French Cup between the teams "Guingamp" and "Rennes" took place. The game was watched by 80,056 fans.
Despite the fact that the stadium is located in the suburbs of Paris, it is very easy to get to it. Highways and a couple of metro stations are located nearby. Buses and trains also run here from the capital.
The field of the stadium is located below the ground level by 11 meters.
Stadium as a tourist attraction
The Stade de France has already become a tourist attraction, so excursions are regularly arranged here. During a short trip, tourists can visit the presidential box, visit the locker rooms, where world sports stars change clothes before tournaments. Also, visitors have the opportunity to walk through the players' tunnel and visit the museum dedicated to the construction of the stadium and the famous sporting events of the world championships. The whole tour takes approximately one hour, and then tourists are allowed to walk around the museum for another half an hour.
From September 1 to March 31, on all days except Monday, there are guided tours to the Stade de France arena. Tours are conducted in English, and you will have to pay 15 € for a ticket. Tourists are not allowed to come on excursions only one day before the upcoming sporting event and the next day after it.
If there was no football
Where the Stade de France is located is already known to the reader, but the question remains open about what happens in the stadium when there is no football matches. After all, they are arranged here infrequently. So, in the arena, motocross races of champions were once held. In 2003, the complex was the site for the World Championship in athletics.
From time to time, the chief holds home matches in the arena. A variety of show programs and concerts are also held at this stadium. Many pop stars performed here, including Madonna, the Rolling Stones, Mylene Farmer, U2 and others.
The original Stade de France is a sports arena that was built for the 1998 football championship. The construction of an impressive structure cost France 285 million euros. The number of seats in the stadium is over 80,000.
The premiere goal at the new arena was scored in 1998 by Zinedine Zidane (at that time he was 25 years old). At the Stade de France, the French team won the World Cup for the first time.
Meetings are taking place today at the Stade de France football teams France, rugby competitions and athletics tournaments.
Where is the Stade de France
The sports facility is located three kilometers north of Paris, at. Address: Stade de France, 93216 Saint-Denis.
How to get to the stadium from Paris
By car
Directly near the sports arena there are 2 motorways:
A1 - from the center of Paris to the south, via Saint-Denis and A86 - the 9th exit leads to Saint-Denis, direction Saint-Denis - La Plaine (stadium).
By metro (line 13)
The stadium is located at Saint-Denis Porte de Paris station. From (Montparnasse) it takes about 25 minutes to get to the stadium, from (Saint-Lazare) - 15 minutes, from (Invalides) - about 20 minutes. /Montparnasse - 25 minutes;
On RER (lines D and B)
European Championship 2016: matches at the Stade de France
From June 10 to July 10, 2016, France will accept. It will take place in 10 cities of France, the Russian team, for example, matches group stage will play in Marseille, Lille and Toulouse. But the Stade de France will not stand aside. Here will be the most important matches of the championship, and several equally interesting games.
On June 13, Sweden will play here against Ireland, on June 16, Germany will play against Poland, and on June 22, Iceland will play against Austria. And then the final stage of the championship will go. On June 27, the 1/8 finals will take place at the Stade de France, on July 3, the ¼ finals and, finally, on July 10, the main trophy of the Championship will be played at this arena.
Location:
Saint Denis, France
Opening:
Home team:
France national team
Field dimensions:
Capacity:
After it became known on July 2, 1992 that France would host the 1998 World Cup, the country faced the problem of the main stadium for the tournament. The final was to be held in the capital, and the Parc des Princes in Paris was not suitable for this role because of its small capacity.
Finding a free place within the boundaries of Paris was not easy and new stadium decided to build in the suburbs. Initially, the construction was planned in Melun Senar, south of the capital. However, due to complaints about the remoteness of this place, the organizers of the championship were forced to move the construction site to the northern suburb of Saint-Denis, known as the burial place of the royals of France.
"Stade de France" built on the site of an abandoned gas mine.
The ideologists of the stadium project were four French architects - Michel Macari, Aymeric Zublen, Réjambal Michel and Claude Constantini. The design of the stadium is influenced by the most successful architectural example of Antiquity - the Roman Colosseum.
The construction cost 285 million euros. It lasted for 31 months from mid-1995.
Opening the main arena of the upcoming World Cup was scheduled for early 1998. However, this match between France and Spain on January 28 was in jeopardy. The field of the stadium was frozen and until the last moment it was not clear whether the game would take place. It's all because of the lack of heating at the Stade de France.
The name for the stadium was proposed by the co-chair of the organizing committee 1998 FIFA World Cup, the legendary French footballer Michel Platini. The stadium is owned and operated by the Stade de France Consortium ( Consortium Stade de France), which has all rights to the registered trademark Stade de France.
The stadium hosted the opening match of the World Cup, as well as eight more matches, including the final, in which the French team won the title of the strongest team in the world.
It was assumed that after the World Cup, Paris Saint-Germain would move to the Stade de France to play, but the club's management chose to leave the team on. This is how the majestic stadium was left without regular football competitions and is idle most of the time, being the home arena for the French football and rugby teams.
Stade de France hosted two finals UEFA Champions League in 2000 and 2006. It also annually hosts the finals of the National Cup and the French League Cup.
In 2007, France hosted the 6th Rugby World Cup and the Stade de France became its main arena. It hosted 7 matches: the opening match, two more games of the group stage, the quarter-finals, both semi-finals and the final.
Stade Français, the main rugby club in Paris Stade Francais) periodically uses the stadium as a home arena for important matches.
In the 2005-2006 season, Saint-Denis played its home matches in the Champions League football club"Lille".
Absence a large number football matches at this stadium is offset by other events held here. In 2004, 2005 and 2006, the Stade de France hosted the annual Race of Champions motocross. It hosted the 2003 World Championships in Athletics. Despite its football essence, the Stade de France is very functional - the lower rows of stands at the stadium are movable, they can be removed to free up space for running tracks and other athletics sectors. At the same time, the stadium's capacity drops to 70,000 seats.
It is also the venue for various shows and concerts. Stars who have performed here include Madonna, Celine Dion, Mylene Farmer, Rolling Stones, U2, AC/DC and etc.
Attendance record The stadium was recorded on May 9, 2009 at the French Cup final between Rennes and Guingamp (1:2) - 80,056 spectators.
In 2016, the Stade de France hosted seven matches of the European Championship, including the opening match and the final. But this time, unlike in 1998, he did not bring good luck to the hosts - the French lost in the decisive match to the Portuguese national team.
Interesting Facts:
- The Stade de France is the only stadium in the world that has hosted the World Cup and Rugby World Cup finals.
- Despite the fact that the arena is located in the suburbs of Paris, it is very easy to get to it - there are two metro stations and motorways nearby
- The arena field is located 11 meters below ground level
World Cup 98 matches:
- 06/10/98, 1st round, group "A", Brazil - Scotland - 2: 1, 80,000 spectators
- 06/13/98, 1st round, group "E", the Netherlands - Belgium - 0: 0, 77,000 spectators
- 06/18/98, 2nd round, group "C", France - Saudi Arabia - 4: 0, 80,000 spectators
- 06/23/98, 3rd round, group "B", Italy - Austria - 2: 1, 80,000 spectators
- 06/26/98, 3rd round, group "G", Romania - Tunisia - 1: 1, 77,000 spectators
- 06/28/98, 1/8 finals, Nigeria - Denmark - 1: 4, 77,000 spectators
- 07/03/98, 1/4 finals, France - Italy - 0:0, 4:3 on penalties, 77,000 spectators
- 07/08/98, 1/2 finals, France - Croatia - 2: 1, 76,000 spectators
- 07/12/98, final, France - Brazil - 3: 0, 80,000 spectators
UEFA Champions League Finals:
- 24.05. 2000, Real Madrid 3-0 Valencia, 78,759 spectators
- 05/17/2006, Barcelona - Arsenal - 2: 1, 79,500 spectators
Euro 2016 matches:
- 06/10/2016, 1st round, group "A", France - Romania - 2: 1, 75,113 spectators
- 06/13/2016, 1st round, group "E", Ireland - Sweden - 1: 1, 73,419 spectators
- 06/16/2016, 2nd round, group "C", Germany - Poland - 0: 0, 73,648 spectators
- 06/22/2016, 3rd round, group "F", Iceland - Austria - 2: 1, 68,714 spectators
- 06/27/2016, 1/8 finals, Italy - Spain - 2: 0, 76,165 spectators
- 07/03/2016, 1/4 finals, France - Iceland - 5: 2, 76,833 spectators
- 07/10/2016, final, Portugal - France - 1: 0, 75,868 spectators
