Work has commenced on the redevelopment of Stade Yves-du-Manoir, the only venue for Paris 2024 which also featured in the French capital’s staging of the 1924 Olympic Games.
First opened in 1907, the stadium in the city of Colombes, Department of Hauts-de-Seine (92), served as the centrepiece of the 1924 Games, hosting the opening ceremony and athletics competitions.
Until 1972, when the Parc des Princes was inaugurated, the Stade Yves-du-Manoir was the main stadium in the Paris Region. Stade Yves-du-Manoir has already been renovated several times, and the Hauts-de-Seine Department, which has owned the facility since 2002, is carrying out a modernisation programme to benefit its communities, associations, schools and universities.
For the 2024 Games, Stade Yves-du-Manoir will be a 15,000-capacity venue for the hockey competitions. Following the Games, one of the new buildings at Stade Yves-du-Manoir will be home to the French Hockey Federation, the Ile-de-France League and the Departmental Hockey Committee, which will be followed by a resident club.
Two synthetic hockey pitches – one for competitions, with a 1,000-seat stand, and one for training – will be set aside for the Federation’s national training centre. A second building will be devoted to football and rugby, while four football pitches, three rugby pitches and a new athletics track will be created in the existing activities area.
Speaking as work commenced on the project this week, Georges Siffredi, President of the Department, said: “While Yves-du-Manoir will be a place of reference for the highest level (by hosting the French Hockey Federation), it will also be a place for sport for all.
“It will allow us to deploy and consolidate our policy of democratisation of sport, in particular for young people, with the support of actors in the field.”
Paris 2024 intends that each of its 64 competition sites will provide permanent facilities for the local population in legacy mode. The work on Stade Yves-du-Manoir is being carried out in close co-operation with the Olympic facilities delivery company, Solidéo, which is contributing €14m (£11.9m/$14.5m) of the €94m cost, with the Department funding the remainder.
Paris 2024 president, Tony Estanguet, said: “Everything that is built or rebuilt must respond to a future use in the service of sports practice. This heritage is our priority.” Regarding Stade Yves-du-Manoir, he added: “This stadium is a link between 1924 and 2024.”
It was announced last month that the Olympic Games will see its first-ever digital venue twin through a partnership between Paris 2024 and OnePlan.
OnePlan’s Venue Twin and GIS Mapping software will be used to create a digital recreation of Olympic and Paralympic sports venues and surrounding areas. The UK-based startup’s technology will be used by the Paris 2024 Organising Committee plus its stakeholders including for transport, TV broadcast and more.
In March, Paris 2024, together with the International Basketball Federation (FIBA), announced that a new venue will be sought to host preliminary basketball games during the Olympics.
The Arena Paris Sud Hall 6 had been due to stage qualifying games during Paris 2024, with organisers choosing the venue as it tied in with the International Olympic Committee’s vision of using existing or temporary facilities at the Games. However, the ability of the venue to cater to elite basketball was questioned by many.
Main Image: CD92/Julia Brechler
Secondary Image: Paris 2024
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