Île-de-France to vote on PSG stadium proposal

Elected officials from the Région Île-de-France are poised to vote on the provision of a package of land to house a potential new stadium for Ligue 1 football club Paris Saint-Germain (PSG).

On September 11, officials will vote on a motion tabled by the Île-de-France executive, which is part of a new Environmental Master Plan and consists of the “creation of a regional envelope to make possible sports projects of regional interest such as the future PSG stadium or the sporting heritage of the Élancourt hill (Yvelines)”.

The latest news comes after it was revealed in February that Valérie Pécresse, President of the Regional Council of Île-de-France, was canvassing leaders of towns within the region to see whether they could accommodate a new stadium for PSG.

Pécresse announced that the region, in which Paris is located, would “open up all possibilities for a stadium outside Paris”. At the time, Pécresse stated that while she believes that PSG belongs at its current home, the Parc des Princes, she “had been contacted by the president of the club (Nasser Al-Khelaifi) to assess other sites in Île-de-France”.

Pécresse specified that such a project would require “a 50 hectare site close to road and public transport, capable of accommodating a stadium and hotel infrastructure”. Commenting ahead of next week’s vote, Pécresse said, according to Le Parisien: “Today, we are not at all sure that PSG will leave the Parc des Princes, but since there is a disagreement between PSG and the City of Paris, the club asked us as part of the public inquiry (relating to the regional development plan) to reserve 50 hectares of potential urbanisation for a very large sports infrastructure development in Île-de-France and therefore a possible move outside of Paris.

“We said yes, because we are not going to deprive our club of infrastructure that it needs. If it is chased out of Paris, we will of course welcome it elsewhere in Île-de-France, but nothing has been decided at the moment.”

Earlier in February, Al-Khelaifi stated that PSG would seek to move from the Parc des Princes following the City of Paris’ definitive declaration that the stadium is not for sale.

On February 6, the City moved to end the prospect of PSG acquiring the Parc des Princes, with Mayor Anne Hidalgo stating “the subject is closed”. The Council of Paris voted in favour of ensuring that PSG’s current home will remain the property of the City and will not be made available for sale, as the club has been hoping.

Relations between the City and PSG over the future of the Parc des Princes have been at a standstill for some time, with the situation becoming increasingly fractious. PSG is currently engaged in a 30-year lease deal for the Parc with the City, which is due to expire at the end of 2043.

PSG is owned by Qatar Sports Investments (QSI) and the club has been forthright in its belief that the acquisition of the stadium is essential to it conducting a proposed expansion from the current capacity of around 48,000 to 60,000.

PSG in January opted against submitting a bid to buy the Stade de France in favour of turning its attention to renovating its current home or building a new stadium. PSG had until January 3 to submit a bid for the Stade de France, the 81,000-capacity stadium which serves as the home of France’s national football and rugby union teams.

Quoted in the French media at the weekend, Hidalgo reaffirmed that “the Parc is not for sale”, but opened the door to talks with QSI stating “we must be able to find an arrangement that can convince the club not to leave it”.

There are a number of parties interested in housing a potential new stadium for PSG, including Montigny-le-Bretonneux and Aulnay-sous-Bois (Seine-Saint-Denis).