French Ligue 1 football club Nantes has announced plans to build a new stadium.
The club said the new ground would be built on the site of its current home, Stade de la Beaujoire (pictured), and will be ready by the summer of 2022.
The stadium will form part of a multi-purpose complex that will also include housing, shops, a car park and a school group. It will be privately financed and cost around €200m.
“Not a penny of Nantes’ tax money will be used in this matter,” Mayor of Nantes Johanna Rolland said. “It’s not (right) for public money to finance these projects.”
It is hoped the new stadium will stage football matches during Paris’ hosting of the 2024 summer Olympic Games.
French newspaper Le Figaro said the stadium would have a capacity of 40,000, compared to the 37,500 La Beaujoire seats.
Club president Waldemar Kita said: “We do not have any stadiums that meet Uefa standards in western France. We want to do everything so that this stadium is the best in France and one of the best in Europe. It is my duty to equip this large club with a stadium that meets its requirements and ambitions.”
Yoann Joubert, president of Realities, the real estate developer behind the project, said La Beaujoire would be used until the new stadium has been built, at which point it will be demolished.
La Beaujoire opened in 1984 ahead of France’s staging of the Uefa European Championships that year.
Image: Sylvain258
