Paris Saint-Germain to buy Stade de France?

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
10 Mar 2023 23:36

Paris-Saint Germain expressed interest in buying Stade de France, the largest in France, for around 600 million euros.

PSG's players wave their fans at the end of the Champions League round of 16-second leg soccer match between Bayern Munich and Paris Saint Germain at the Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany, Wednesday, March 8, 2023. Bayern Munich won 2-0 (AP Photo/Andreas Schaad)

French champions Paris Saint-Germain confirmed that they are in the race to buy Stade de France for next Summer's Olympics.

The French government launched a call to find buyers for the 81,500-seater stadium for the price of 600 million euros.

"We are candidates for the Stade de France," a PSG source said, confirming a report in the French sports daily L'Equipe, adding that it had not yet put in its bid.

The price of Stade de France, originally built for the 1998 World Cup finals was estimated at 647 million euros by the French government in 2021.

Sports Minister Amelie Oudea-Castera mentioned that the sale of the stadium is an option, and grants a new operating lease.

The deadline for the tenders to place their bids to be examined is on April 27 for the possible handover of the stadium in 2025.

The club had signed a 30-year lease for Parc des Princes in 2014. It recently announced that the club will try to find a replacement if Paris City Council didn't sell the stadium to PSG.

The French football giants plan to make significant upgrades to the venue if they had full ownership.

Last November, PSG President Nasser Al-Khelaifi revealed that the club wished to buy Parc des Princes but the bid was rejected as it was below the council's asking price.

PSG wishes to expand its stadium's capacity to 58,000; renovations to make this happen will cost almost 500 million euros.

As such, PSG's preferred option is acquiring Stade de France. The third possibility is the construction of a totally new stadium near Poissy in the western suburbs of Paris.

It is also noteworthy that if PSG became the owner of Stade de France, the club would have to share it with others hosting matches which include French football and rugby.