Stade de France – France

The Stade de France hosts the majority of the French rugby team’s home games during the Six Nations Championship. Set in the Parisian suburb of St. Denis, the Stade de France also serves as a home ground for the Top 14 rugby club Stade Francais and the French football team.

Stade de France Stats

Built: 1995
Capacity: 80,000
Owner: Consortium Stade de France
Home side: France
Cost: €285 million

Stade de France Overview

Rugby games featuring the French rugby team are hosted at stadiums all around the country, with both Marseilles and Toulouse regularly hosting test matches. However, as the largest stadium in the country, the Stade de France is the preferred home stadium for France during the Six Nations.

The Stade de France has no permanent tenant, and remains empty for much of the year. Although originally built for the 1998 FIFA World Cup, the Stade de France is most frequently used for rugby matches, with Parisian club Stade Francais using the ground to host high profile Top 14 matches with great success.

Stade de France History

Construction of the Stade de France began in 1995 as France prepared to host the FIFA World Cup. The stadium was intended to replace the Parc des Princes as the French national stadium. The stadium was named in honour of the Pays de France, a once fertile farming area, which lies to the North of Paris.

The Stade de France was completed in 1998, and was immediately pressed into service as it hosted several high profile 1998 FIFA World Cup matches. The Stadium has since hosted two UEFA Champions League finals, as well as the final of the 2007 Rugby World Cup.

The French record for attendance of a regular season league game was set at the stadium in January 2007, when a rugby match between Stade Francais and Toulouse drew 79,741 spectators.

The Stade de France Experience

The Stade de France is one of the world’s most breathtaking stadiums, and is best enjoyed when packed to the rafters for a Six Nations match. The stadium boasts a knowledgeable home crowd who routinely side with the opposition when the French are off their game. The crowd frequently urge their team on with chants of ‘Allez les Bleu’ during close encounters.