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 Interactive map of Matmut Stadium de Gerland | |
| Full name | Matmut Stadium de Gerland |
|---|---|
| Location | 353, Avenue Jean-Jaurès, 69007VIIè Arrondissement,Lyon,France |
| Coordinates | 45°43′26″N4°49′56″E / 45.72389°N 4.83222°E /45.72389; 4.83222 |
| Public transit |   Stade de Gerland–Le LOU |
| Owner | City ofLyon |
| Operator | Lyon OU |
| Capacity | 35,029[1] |
| Field size | 105 x 68 m |
| Surface | Artificial |
| Construction | |
| Built | 1914 |
| Opened | 23 May 1926; 99 years ago (1926-05-23) |
| Renovated | 2017 |
| Expanded | 1960, 1980, 1998 |
| Construction cost | 32.7m€ (including renovations) |
| Architect | Tony Garnier René Gagis (renovation) |
| Tenants | |
| Olympique Lyonnais (1950–2015) Lyon OU (2017–present) | |
TheStade de Gerland (known for sponsorship reasons asMatmut Stadium de Gerland and otherwise known asMunicipal de Gerland orStade Gerland[stadʒɛʁlɑ̃]) is a stadium in the city ofLyon,France, which serves as home toTop 14 rugby clubLyon OU. It has a seating capacity of 35,029.[2]
Situated in the Gerland quarter, it was used by French professionalfootball clubOlympique Lyonnais, who moved to the newly constructedParc Olympique Lyonnais in 2016. Local rugby union clubLyon OU moved in beginning of 2017, replacing their much smaller stadiumMatmut Stadium, which had been their home stadium since late 2011. The Stade de Gerland's capacity was also reduced from 43,000 to a more reasonable 35,029.
The stadium is listed as aCategory three stadium byUEFA's standards and has hosted matches for the1954 and1972 Rugby League World Cups,UEFA Euro 1984, the1998 FIFA World Cup, and the2007 Rugby World Cup.
The stadium has hosted concerts by many famous artists, includingThe Rolling Stones,Michael Jackson,David Bowie,Pink Floyd andGenesis.
In 1910, the mayor ofLyon,Édouard Herriot, came up with the idea to develop and build a sports stadium with anathletics track and avelodrome in the city. In 1912, the stadium was officially mandated and localarchitectTony Garnier was given the reins to designing and constructing it. Construction began in 1914 with hopes that the stadium would be completed before theInternational Exhibition of 1914. However, due to World War I, construction was temporarily halted, but resumed with the assistance of a large number of GermanPOWs following the war's conclusion in 1919. By 1920, the stadium was completely functional. In 1926, the Stade de Gerland was inaugurated by Herriot.
The stadium originally had acycling track, but it was removed in order to increase the seating capacity to 50,000. In 1984, minor renovations were made to the stadium by architect Rene Gagis in order to bring the stadium up to standards forUEFA Euro 1984. This included construction of theJean Bouin andJean Jaurès stands. Further renovations were needed to prepare the stadium for the1998 FIFA World Cup, as by that timeFIFA had mandated that all stadiums used for international matches, including theWorld Cup, had to beall-seated. The north and south stands were completely dismantled and rebuilt, theJean Jaurès andJean Bouin side stands were untouched and theathletics track that had remained, even after the cycling track had been removed, was taken out. The renovations were done by architect Albert Constantin. The new incarnation of Gerland had a maximum capacity of 40,500.
From 1950 to 2015 the stadium was home to French professionalfootball clubOlympique Lyonnais. Lyon moved into the stadium as a result of splitting from theLyon Olympique Universitaire sport club, which played at the Stade des Iris. Its record attendance for aLigue 1 match is 48,552 set during a match between Olympique Lyonnais andSaint-Étienne in 1982.
Stade de Gerland can also be used for events with mass audiences, such as concerts; in the past, it has hosted artists such as theRolling Stones,Michael Jackson,Pink Floyd, andGenesis.
The stadium was one of the host venues for the first everRugby League World Cup, having seen the tournament'ssecond group game between whenGreat Britain andAustralia played at the stadium. Great Britain won the match 28–13.
Stade de Gerland was selected as a host venue during France's second time at hosting the tournament. The stadium, selected to host the1972 Rugby League World Cup final, again betweenGreat Britain andAustralia. The game received a poor attendance of only 4,231 spectators with the French public seemingly uninterested in a final that did not involveFrench (the Final actually attracted the lowest attendance of the entire tournament). The game, however, proved a memorable one for both Great Britain and Australia; seeing Great Britain captainClive Sullivan's long distance try, and Australia's "greatest try never scored", by fullback and captainGraeme Langlands. The try was disallowed by French referee Georges Jameau for offside, but was later proven on TV replay to be onside (to his credit, upon seeing the replay in the referees change room immediately after the game, Jameau sought out the Australian captain to apologize for his error). Great Britain hookerMike Stephenson scored the 73rd-minute try that helped level the scores and secure the World Cup. Australia wingerRay Branighan missed his 79th-minute penalty,Bob Fulton failed three drop goal attempts in the last five minutes, resulting in a 10–10 scoreline at full time. Scores were again level after extra time.[3]
Qualification for the final was achieved by a top two finish in the group stage, however with Great Britain finishing first and Australia second in the group, a draw for Great Britain would secure them the title.
The stadium was one of the venues of theUEFA Euro 1984, and held the following matches:
| Date | Team #1 | Res. | Team #2 | Round | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 June 1984 |  Denmark | 5–0 |  Yugoslavia | Group 1 | 24,736 |
| 24 June 1984 |  Spain | 1–1 (5–4pen.) | Denmark | Semi-finals | 47,843 |
The stadium was one of the venues of the1998 FIFA World Cup, and held the following matches:
| Date | Team #1 | Res. | Team #2 | Round | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 June 1998 |  South Korea | 1–3 |  Mexico | Group E | 39,100 |
| 15 June 1998 |  Romania | 1–0 |  Colombia | Group G | 39,100 |
| 21 June 1998 |  United States | 1–2 |  Iran | Group F | 39,100 |
| 24 June 1998 |  France | 2–1 | Denmark | Group C | 39,100 |
| 26 June 1998 |  Japan | 1–2 |  Jamaica | Group H | 39,100 |
| 4 July 1998 |  Germany | 0–3 |  Croatia | Quarter-finals | 39,100 |
The stadium was one of the venues of the2003 FIFA Confederations Cup, and held the following matches:
| Date | Team #1 | Result | Team #2 | Round | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18 June 2003 | France | 1–0 | Colombia | Group A | 38,541 |
| 20 June 2003 | Colombia | 3–1 |  New Zealand | 22,811 | |
| 21 June 2003 |  Brazil | 1–0 | United States | Group B | 20,306 |
| 23 June 2003 | United States | 0–0 |  Cameroon | 19,206 | |
| 26 June 2003 | Cameroon | 1–0 | Colombia | Semi-finals | 12,352 |
On 26 June 2003,Cameroon facedColombia in the semi-final, held here. In the 72nd minute of the matchMarc-Vivien Foé collapsed in the centre circle[4] with no other players near him.[5] After attempts to resuscitate him on the pitch, he was stretchered off the field, where he received mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and oxygen. Medics spent 45 minutes attempting to restart his heart, and although he was still alive upon arrival at the stadium's medical centre, he died shortly afterwards.[4] A first autopsy did not determine an exact cause of death, but a second autopsy concluded that Foé's death was heart-related as it discovered evidence ofhypertrophic cardiomyopathy,[6] a hereditary condition known to increase the risk of sudden death during physical exercise.
The stadium was one of the venues of the2007Rugby World Cup, and held the following matches:
| Date | Time (CET) | Team #1 | Result | Team #2 | Round | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 September 2007 | 15:45 |  Australia | 91–3 |  Japan | Pool B | 40,043 |
| 11 September 2007 | 20:00 |  Argentina | 33–3 |  Georgia | Pool D | 40,240 |
| 15 September 2007 | 13:00 | New Zealand | 108–13 |  Portugal | Pool C | 40,729 |
| Preceded by | Rugby League World Cup Final venue 1972 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | European Cup Winners' Cup Final venue 1986 | Succeeded by |
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