La Beaujoire | |
_-_2022-09-18_-_51.jpg) | |
  Stade de la Beaujoire – Louis Fonteneau Location in France Show map of France | |
| Location | Route de Saint Joseph 44300,Nantes, France |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 47°15′22″N1°31′30″W / 47.256°N 1.525°W /47.256; -1.525 |
| Capacity | 35,318 |
| Field size | 117 m × 78 m (384 ft × 256 ft) |
| Surface | Desso GrassMaster |
| Construction | |
| Opened | 1984[1] |
| Architect | Berdje Agopyan |
| Tenants | |
| FC Nantes (1984–present) | |
| Website | |
| fcnantes.com | |
TheStade de la Beaujoire – Louis Fonteneau, mostly known asStade de la Beaujoire (French pronunciation:[staddəlaboʒwaʁ]), is astadium inNantes,France. It is the home of French football clubFC Nantes, known as thecanaries.
The stadium was built in ahexagon shape forfootball use. The construction was purposely finished in1984 for use in theEuropean Football Championship, then was renovated for theFootball World Cup in1998. TheBeaujoire stadium has also hosted internationalrugby union matches, such as the group stages of bothRugby World Cups in France during2007 and2023. Then, it also hosted men's and women's football games in2024 ParisOlympics in France.[2] As well assports, the venue also hosts musicconcerts.
 | This article includes a list ofgeneral references, butit lacks sufficient correspondinginline citations. Please help toimprove this article byintroducing more precise citations.(August 2024) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
The current stadium is in use for FC Nantes football team, it was built as a second stadium in the city of Nantes replacing theMarcel-Saupin stadium as the team's home ground. The club's owners chose Berdje Agopyan as the architect of their new stadium, he was also responsible for the design ofParc des Princes stadium inParis in the 1970s. The project took almost 3 years to complete from the city council's approval in June 1982.[3]
The stadium opened for the first time on 8 May 1984, for a friendly game between FC Nantes andRomania in front of 30,000 fans. It was named afterLouis Fonteneau, who was president of FC Nantes between 1969 and 1986. It was renovated in 1998 for the1998 FIFA World Cup. While its original capacity was 52,923, in 1998 it was converted to an all-seater stadium and its current capacity is 35,322.[4] Highest attendance was 51,359 for France-Belgium match in 1984.
La Beaujoire hosted matches during theUEFA Euro 1984, including a 5–0 victory for France overBelgium with three goals fromMichel Platini. Six matches were also played there during the1998 FIFA World Cup, including the quarter-final betweenBrazil andDenmark. The stadium was not selected for theUEFA Euro 2016.
TheFrance national football team have played in Nantes' stadium on five separate occasions, most recently in 2019 where they played a friendly match againstBolivia.
The stadium also hosts international rugby matches, including France againstNew Zealand (16–3) on 15 November 1986. In September 2007, it hosted three pool matches of the2007 Rugby World Cup: Wales vs Canada on 9 September, England vs Samoa on 22 September and Wales vs Fiji on 29 September. In domestic rugby, La Beaujoire hosted bothTop 14 semifinal matches in2013, andParis-area Top 14 sideRacing Métro 92 played their final "home" match of the2013–14 season againstClermont at La Beaujoire on 19 April 2014.
Since 1984, the stadium in Nantes has hosted international tournament matches for football and rugby competitions in France.[3]
The stadium was selected as one of the venues for the1984 UEFA European Championship and held the following matches:[5][6]
| Date | Team #1 | Result | Team #2 | Round | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 June 1984 |  France | 5–0 |  Belgium | Group 1 | 51,359 |
| 20 June 1984 |  Portugal | 1–0 |  Romania | Group 2 | 24,464 |
The stadium was one of the venues of the1998 FIFA World Cup and held the following matches:[7]
| Date | Team #1 | Result | Team #2 | Round | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 June 1998 |  Spain | 2–3 |  Nigeria | Group D | 35,500 |
| 16 June 1998 |  Brazil | 3–0 |  Morocco | Group A | 35,500 |
| 20 June 1998 |  Japan | 0–1 |  Croatia | Group H | 35,500 |
| 23 June 1998 |  Chile | 1–1 |  Cameroon | Group B | 35,500 |
| 25 June 1998 |  United States | 0–1 |  FR Yugoslavia | Group F | 35,500 |
| 3 July 1998 | Brazil | 3–2 |  Denmark | Quarter-finals | 35,500 |
The stadium was used in the group stage of the2007 Rugby World Cup in France.[8]
| Date | Time (CET) | Team #1 | Result | Team #2 | Round | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 September 2007 | 14:00 |  Wales | 42–17 |  Canada | Pool B | 37,500 |
| 22 September 2007 | 16:00 |  England | 44–22 |  Samoa | Pool A | 37,022 |
| 29 September 2007 | 17:00 | Wales | 34–38 |  Fiji | Pool B | 37,080 |
The stadium was one of the venues of the2023 Rugby World Cup, and hosted the following matches:[9]
| Date | Time (CET) | Team #1 | Result | Team #2 | Round | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 September 2023 | 21:00 |  Ireland | 59–16 |  Tonga | Pool B | 35,673 |
| 30 September 2023 | 15:00 |  Argentina | 59–5 | Chile | Pool D | 37,000 |
| 7 October 2023 | 15:00 | Wales | 43–19 |  Georgia | Pool C | 33,580 |
| 8 October 2023 | 13:00 | Japan | 27–39 | Argentina | Pool D | 33,624 |
The football tournament forMen andWomen at the2024 Summer Olympics.[10]
| Date | Team #1 | Result | Team #2 | Round | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24 July 2024 |  Egypt | 0–0 |  Dominican Republic | Men's group C | 13,945 |
| 25 July 2024 | Spain | 2–1 | Japan | Women's group C | 10,377 |
| 27 July 2024 |  Uzbekistan | 0–1 | Egypt | Men's group C | 20,658 |
| 28 July 2024 | Spain | 1–0 | Nigeria | Women's group C | 11,079 |
| 30 July 2024 |  Israel | 0–1 | Japan | Men's group D | 11,671 |
| 31 July 2024 | Japan | 3–1 | Nigeria | Women's group C | 6,480 |
| 3 August 2024 |  France | 0–1 | Brazil | Women's quarter-finals | 32,280 |
| 8 August 2024 | Egypt | 0–6 | Morocco | Men's bronze medal match | 27,391 |
Since the stadium's inauguration in 1984, many musical acts have played concerts in the stadium, memorableconcerts include:[3]
A new stadium namedYelloPark was planned to replace the Stade de la Beaujoire, which was to be demolished for the2024 Summer Olympics inParis and the2023 Rugby World Cup.[11] On 26 February 2019, the project was cancelled.
