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Nîmes Olympique bids farewell to Stade des Costières

Featured image credit: Fexedyte/CC BY-SA 4.0/Edited for size

French Ligue 2 football club Nîmes Olympique played its final match at the Stade des Costières on Saturday, defeating top-of-the-table Girondins de Bordeaux 1-0.

The 18,000-seat stadium had served as Nîmes’ home since 1989 but it is set to be demolished to make way for a new facility. The club will play at a temporary facility while the new stadium is being built.

The temporary stadium, Stade des Antonins, has a capacity of 8,000 and is set to host Nîmes matches until 2026. Construction work on the new 15,000-seat stadium being built on the Stade des Costières site is set to begin in January 2023.

Nîmes unveiled plans for its wide-ranging stadium complex in September last year. As well as the 15,000-capacity stadium, the site will include a new arena and eco-district.

The project has been drawn up by leading French architect Valode & Pistre and will be undertaken by SAS NEMAU, an entity formed by Nîmes president Rani Assaf. The project will cost a reported €230m (£201m/$230m).

Nîmes will benefit from a long-term and secure commercial lease that will not increase its stadium operating expenses, while it is hoped its income from the venue will be substantially improved through better public offerings and daily use of spaces outside of matchdays.

Nîmes was relegated from Ligue 1 at the end of the 2020-21 season.

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