January 5 – A deal that would see French Champions Paris Saint Germain relocate to the neighbouring Stade to France has not materialised, with the club set to stay put at the Parc des Princes for the time being.
The club were linked with a purchase of the Stade de France but were met with FFF (France Football Association) and FRF (France Rugby Association) restrictions involving priority usage, which the club were not prepared to uphold.
As a result of France’s involvement in the Six Nations rugby tournament, the Stade de France – as France’s national stadium – would be required commit at least two or three match days between February and April of each year, essentially booting Les Parisiens out of their prospective home ground.
The prohibitive clause rendered a bid improbable but not completely off the table. However, confirmation has arrived following the expiration of the offer submission deadline on Wednesday afternoon.
The 11-time Ligue 1 champions are now exploring the prospect of developing their existing stadium, the Parc des Princes, to keep up with stadia of the rest of Europe’s elite. As it stands, the Parc des Princes holds a capacity of 48,583 – almost 30,000 seats shy of stadiums such as Old Trafford, the Allianz Arena and the Signul Iduna Park and less than half of the capacity of the Spotify Camp Nou of FC Barcelona.
However, to pursue this expansion, PSG must acquire ownership of the stadium itself. Presently, PSG’s home ground is under the ownership of the Mayor of Paris, who has not been inclined towards a sale, or at least not at a price aligning with PSG’s valuation.
Should discussions regarding the Parc des Princes stall, the possibility of pursuing a new stadium site would emerge as a viable alternative. However, venturing into such a long-term endeavour would inevitably bring an array of obstacles, spanning administrative intricacies and assorted challenges to add to the impending exit of star player Kylian Mbappe.
Despite the clear downside of Mbappe’s exit, the conclusion of his contract will free up hundreds of millions of euros to be put towards future development projects, including the potential construction of an entirely new stadium.
PSG sit five points clear at the top of the Ligue 1 table, but turn to French Cup action on Sunday evening as they face sixth-tier US Revel.
Contact the writer of this story, Harry Ewing, at moc.l1714344312labto1714344312ofdlr1714344312owedi1714344312sni@g1714344312niwe.1714344312yrrah1714344312