Featured image credit: Hauts-de-Seine Department
Stade Yves-du-Manoir, which has undergone major redevelopment work for the Olympic Games in Paris, has officially opened ahead of this summer’s event.
The venue, which will host hockey events during the Games, was inaugurated on Tuesday and members of the public will be able to tour the site as part of daily opening events that are taking place until Saturday.
On Saturday, the first hockey matches will take place at the stadium and free introductory sports sessions will be held for locals. Free entertainment will also be offered for children, while there will be bands, a DJ and food trucks.
Redevelopment work at the venue was completed in December. The stadium opened in 1907 and served as the main venue for the 1924 Games in Paris, while it was also used during the 1938 FIFA World Cup. It is located in the Colombes commune in the Paris suburbs and is owned by the Hauts-de-Seine Department.
For the Olympics, Stade Yves-du-Manoir will be a 13,500-capacity venue and following the Games one of its new buildings 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.
Redevelopment work commenced in May 2022 and the Hauts-de-Seine Department has invested more than €90.8m (£77.7m/$98.8m) into the project. The venue has been fitted with a new 1,000-seat stand and seven multi-sport areas, while the other stands have also been renovated.
The project has been structured to meet environmental requirements of the Department and Paris 2024 organisers, with renewable energy accounting for 50% of electricity produced on-site and 50% of heating consumption. According to the Department, the stadium places second among Olympic venues when it comes to the most bio-sourced materials.
Paris 2024 president Tony Estanguet said: “Today’s inauguration of Stade Yves-du-Manoir brings us a great deal of confidence in this final stretch before the Olympics.
“For the organising committee, which I chair, it is a great source of satisfaction. Everything we love about this project is here. It’s a wonderful nod to history, to French sporting heritage. We know what this stadium has represented in the history of French sport and the history of the Games.”
The Paris Olympics will take place from July 26 to August 11.
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