The stadium's surroundings were once a forest that served as a private recreation area and hunting ground for the king's sons (the princes) for centuries, hence the name Parc des Princes. In 1852, the area was transferred to theCouncil of Paris.[5][6][7] The first Parc was built there in 1897 as a velodrome, hosting prestigious cycling competitions including theTour de France. Expanded in 1932, the second Parc adopted a more modern design to focus on other sports such as football,rugby union andrugby league.[1][8][9]
Instigated by French presidentCharles de Gaulle and Minister of SportsMaurice Herzog, a project to rebuild the stadium to contemporary standards began on 8 July 1967, under the direction ofRoger Taillibert.Georges Pompidou, who succeeded de Gaulle upon his death in 1970, officially inaugurated the stadium on 4 June 1972.[1][6] The third Parc was one of the most advanced stadiums in Europe at the time, impressing with its futuristic lines, suspended concrete stands and formidable acoustics.[6][9][10]
For centuries, the French royal family controlled theForest of Rouvray, today a public park called theBois de Boulogne, and used it as a private recreation area and hunting ground for the king's sons (the princes). Following theFrench Revolution of 1789, the area was taken over by the central government. In 1852, upon the declaration of theSecond French Empire, EmperorNapoleon III ceded ownership to theCouncil of Paris.[5][6][7] The Parc des Princes was built there on 18 July 1897, hence its name.[5][6][14] It is the oldest stadium in Paris.[15]
Desgrange and his business partner Victor Goddet, who were making a name for themselves managing the Parc, founded the cycling newspaperL'Auto in 1900 to compete with rival sports magazineLe Vélo.[1][18] In an attempt to counter the popularity ofLe Vélo, Desgrange took up the idea of a colleague,Géo Lefèvre, to organize a large-scale race: theTour de France. Goddet secured the necessary funding and thefirst edition of the race was held in July 1903, finishing at the Parc. The Tour was a resounding success andL'Auto dominated the sports press for the next forty years, whileLe Vélo ceased publication in November 1904.[1][18][19] From 1903 to 1967, the Tour completed its course on the 666-meter-long pink cycle track of the Parc.[6][16][20][21] It also hosted eight furtherUCI Track Cycling World Championships between 1907 and 1964.[22]
The Parc's capacity was increased to 10,000 seats just beforeWorld War I.[8][16] After the war, the stadium hosted its firstCoupe de France final in1919 betweenCASG Paris andOlympique de Paris in front of 10,000 spectators.[6] In 1922, the Council of Paris refused funding to convert the Parc into anOlympic Stadium for the1924 Summer Olympics.[5][8] It was eventually expanded to 20,000 seats, but was still considered too small by theInternational Olympic Committee.[1][8][16] Thanks to funding from Racing, who had moved there from the Parc in 1920, the Yves-du-Manoir was expanded to 60,000 spectators and was thus chosen to host the event.[1][8][29]
Following the Olympic Games, the Council of Paris signed a 40-year concession contract withL'Auto in 1925.[6] Goddet died shortly after, in 1926, and his shares in the newspaper passed to his sons,Jacques and Maurice.[18] Desgrange and the Goddet brothers began a major expansion of the stadium in 1931.[1][8][16] Work was completed nine months later on 23 April 1932, with a capacity of 40,000 spectators, including 26,000 seats, and four stands, two of them covered, surrounding the pitch. These were named Tribune Présidentielle (or Tribune L'Auto), Tribune Paris (or Tribune Tour de France), Tribune Auteuil and Tribune Boulogne.[8][14][16] However, the length of the velodrome's pink track was reduced from 666 metres to 454.[6][16][30]
The second Parc was inaugurated by tenantsRed Star with a 4–2 win over Spanish sideAthletic Bilbao in a friendly match on 9 October 1932.[16][31] Racing also moved into the Parc, playing their firstLigue 1 match there on 23 October 1932 againstMulhouse.[16][32]Stade Français joined Red Star and Racing later that year, and the three clubs shared the stadium until 1966.[8][32][33] In rugby union, the Parc hosted France's1937 FIRA Tournament final victory againstItaly and two matches of the1945–46 Victory Internationals.[24][34] Several boxing matches were also held at the stadium.[16][20] The first fight was on 12 June 1932, when French boxerMarcel Thil took the world middleweight title from AmericanGorilla Jones in front of 70,000 spectators.[35] On 25 May 1946, the Parc hosted six more bouts, including the main event between French boxersMarcel Cerdan and Robert Charron, won by the former.[20][36]
The Parc des Princes in 1932.
1938 was an eventful year for the Parc, beginning with the1938 Coupe de France final, its second overall. It would again host the deciding match in1940 and1944.[37] In June, the1938 FIFA World Cup became the first major tournament held at the Parc since 1900. The stadium hosted the opening match betweenSwitzerland andGermany, as well asHungary's semi-final victory overSweden, but the Yves-du-Manoir remained more important and was the venue for thefinal.[1][38] Finally, on 10 December 1938, American soldiers remaining in France after World War I played the firstAmerican football game on French soil at the Parc in front of 25,000 spectators.[5][8][16]
The1939 Tour de France marked the last event at the stadium beforeWorld War II. It ended shortly beforeNazi Germanyinvaded Poland. Plans were made for a Tour in 1940, and Desgrange hoped to host an American team for the first time, but these plans were put on hold following theGerman invasion of France. Desgrange died three months later, in August 1940, and full responsibility forL'Auto, the Tour, and the Parc fell to Jacques, his brother Maurice having sold his shares inL'Auto to a group of Nazi-sympathizing businessmen in the late 1930s.[18][19] During the 1940s, despite the war, the Parc hosted four consecutive Top 14 finals between 1943 and 1946.[39][40][41][42]
Jacques continued publishing during World War II, showing some sympathy for the occupying Germans. Upon theLiberation of France in 1944, he was accused of collaboration,L'Auto was closed, and its assets confiscated by the state. French publishing magnateÉmilien Amaury came to his aid, and Jacques avoided jail. With Amaury's help, he eventually gained permission to launch a new sports newspaper, calledL'Équipe, in 1946. Amaury also persuaded the authorities to return control of the Parc and the Tour to Jacques throughL'Équipe the following year. In return, he had to cede 50% of his shares inL'Équipe to Amaury, who thus became a co-owner of the Tour.[18][19] Events returned to the Parc soon after, starting with the1947 Tour de France, the first edition since 1939.[18] The1948 Tour de France was another highlight; its finish at the Parc des Princes velodrome on 25 July 1948 was the first live television broadcast of the race.[16][43]
French presidentCharles de Gaulle and Minister of SportsMaurice Herzog pushed through a project to convert the Parc into a joint national football and rugby stadium, adapted to contemporary standards.[1][9] Pursuing their vision, the Council of Paris did not renew Jacques's lease on the stadium when it expired in 1965.[6] As a result, Jacques ran into financial difficulties that year and sold his remaining 50% shares inL'Équipe to Amaury, who became the owner of the Tour.[18] In 1967, the state gave the green light to a third version of the Parc, with French architectRoger Taillibert chosen to lead the project, working closely with Iranian artistSiavash Teimouri. The1967 Tour de France was the 54th and last time that the race was run on the Parc's pink track, which ceased to exist following reconstruction.[1][6][16][21][55]
Demolition began on 8 July 1967 and work was completed on 23 April 1972.[6][14][16] However, matches continued to be played there, albeit with reduced attendance, including the 1969 Trophée des Champions and the 1970Championnat de France Amateur final. The latter, played on 14 June 1970 betweenPierrots andMontélimar, was the last match at this second incarnation of the Parc. In a stadium surrounded by cranes, Paul Kohler scored the only goal of the match, giving Pierrots their second consecutive title.[16][54][56] The Parc had previously hosted four other Championnat de France Amateur finals between 1965 and 1969.[56][57]
With a seating capacity for 47,929 spectators and four covered stands, the third Parc impressed with its futuristic lines, suspended concrete stands and formidable acoustics.[4][5][9] Equipped with an integrated video and sound system, it was one of the most advanced stadiums in Europe, also being the first to feature rooftop lighting on the continent.[6][10][14] The Parc was the largest stadium in France, home to the national football and rugby union teams (1972–1997), the venue of the Coupe de France (1972–1997), theTop 14 (1974–1997) and theCoupe de la Ligue (1995–1997) finals, and hosted the Six Nations (1973–1997), until the construction of theStade de France.[5][24][25][37][52][58]
With Reims no longer among Europe's elite, Racing Paris and Stade Français both in lower divisions, and Red Star atStade Bauer, the Parc needed a new tenant.[8][32][49]Paris FC, fresh from a bitter split with PSG, took over in 1972.[13] PSG played their first match at the Parc on 10 November 1973. They won 3–1 againstLigue 2 promotion rivals Red Star, with the club's first goal at the stadium being scored byOthniel Dossevi.[3][60] PSG then won theLigue 1 promotion play–offs 4–2 againstValenciennes at the Parc on 4 June 1974, coinciding with Paris FC's relegation.[61][62] They moved to the stadium permanently in July 1974.[3] Paris FC returned to Ligue 1 in 1978, sharing the Parc with PSG before being relegated in 1979. Racing Paris also shared the stadium from 1984 until their relegation from Ligue 1 in 1990.[13] PSG became the Parc's sole tenant in 1997, when both French national teams moved to the Stade de France.[25][63]
The1975 European Cup final, played at the current Parc, went down in history as one of the most famous.Bayern Munich clinched the title by defeatingLeeds United 2–0 in a highly controversial match. French refereeMichel Kitabdjian did not send off Leeds midfielderTerry Yorath after a brutal foul, but also denied Leeds two clear penalties from Bayern captainFranz Beckenbauer and ruled out another goal for a dubious offside. The referee had to stop the game several times before the Germans scored twice in the final 20 minutes. The English fans began setting fire to the stands and throwing seats at the police. Bayern had to cut short their lap of honor. Twenty people were arrested and almost 50 fans and police officers were injured.[1][64] Two more European finals followed.Anderlecht crushedAustria Wien 4–0 in the1978 European Cup Winners' Cup final, whileLiverpool defeated Real Madrid 1–0 in the1981 European Cup final.[1] It was also at the Parc that France, led by captainMichel Platini, won their first international title, becoming European champions atEuro 1984 after beatingSpain 2–0 in thefinal.[1][5]
A year earlier, underdogs had won their first major trophy against Platini's reigning Ligue 1 championsSaint-Étienne in the1982 Coupe de France final at the Parc, one of the most iconic finals in the tournament's history.[65][66]Nambatingue Toko opened the scoring for PSG, but Platini forced extra time and then gave Saint-Étienne the lead with his second goal of the night.[67] Saint-Étienne were cruising towards the title whenDominique Rocheteau scored an unexpected equalizer against his former team in the dying seconds of the match.[60][67] PSG fans invaded the pitch in joy, while PSG presidentFrancis Borelli knelt and kissed the turf. After a 30-minute interruption,Dominique Baratelli saved Saint-Étienne's final attempt andDominique Bathenay converted the winning penalty.[60][66][67] In 1983, PSG beatWaterschei 2–0 at the Parc in the quarter-finals of the Cup Winners' Cup in front of 49,575 spectators, a club record that still stands today.[66][68]
During the 1980s, several major non-sporting events were held at the Parc.Pope John Paul II chose the stadium to celebrate Mass during his first visit to France on 1 June 1980, while French politicianJacques Chirac gave his election speech there for his1981 presidential bid for the conservativeGaullist partyRally for the Republic (RPR). Towards the end of the decade, it also began hosting concerts, withMichael Jackson being the first to perform at the Parc in 1988 for hisBad World Tour, which attracted 130,000 spectators over two days.[20]
The French rugby union team set the all-time attendance record at the Parc in 1989, when 50,370 spectators watched their 31–12 victory overWales in the1989 Five Nations Championship.[13] The stadium also hostedEngland's iconic 19–10 quarter-final victory over France in the1991 Rugby World Cup, remembered as one of the greatest and bloodiest matches in rugby history.[69] In 1992, France was named as the host of the1998 FIFA World Cup, the first on French soil since 1938, and the Stade de France, a new national stadium, was planned for the occasion inSaint-Denis, north of Paris. It was the beginning of the end of the Parc's status as the country's primary venue, although it continued to host several top-flight matches until 1998.[1] PSG even considered moving to the Stade de France, but ultimately decided to stay at the Parc.[70]
Interior of the Parc des Princes in 2004.
In 1993, French football suffered one of its most painful defeats in front of a team record 48,402 spectators. France needed a draw, whileBulgaria needed to win, to ensure qualification for the1994 FIFA World Cup in the USA. With the score tied at 1–1 in the dying seconds of the match, French wingerDavid Ginola had the ball by the corner flag. Instead of wasting time and letting the clock run out, he overhit a cross intended forEric Cantona. The ball was collected by the Bulgarians, who launched a quick counterattack which resulted inEmil Kostadinov scoring the winning goal. France managerGérard Houllier publicly blamed Ginola for the 2–1 defeat.[12][71]
Construction of the Stade de France began in May 1995. In the same month, the Parc hostedReal Zaragoza's victory overArsenal in the1995 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup final.[1] The stadium witnessed one of PSG's darkest moments in Europe in January 1997, when they were defeated 6–1 byJuventus in the first leg of the1996 UEFA Super Cup.[72] On 11 June 1997, the French football team drew 2–2 againstItaly in the1997 Tournoi de France in their final match at the Parc.[73] They have returned to the stadium five times, for a total of 132 matches, 127 of them between 1905 and 1997.[25][74] On 22 November 1997, the French rugby union team were crushed 52–10 bySouth Africa in their final match at the Parc.[75] They have only played at the stadium once more, in 2007, for a total of 80 matches, 79 of them between 1906 and 1997.[24]
The 81,000-capacity Stade de France opened with a friendly against Spain in January 1998, which France won with a solitary goal fromZinedine Zidane.[1][76] In May 1998, just days before the start of theFIFA World Cup at the Stade de France,Inter Milan won the1998 UEFA Cup final againstLazio. It was the last European football final to be played at the Parc.[1] Two months later, Zidane scored twice at the Stade de France as France defeatedBrazil 3–0 in the1998 FIFA World Cup final to secure their first World Cup title.[1][76] While the Parc hosted four group stage matches, one round of 16 match and the third-place play-off during the World Cup, it became, above all, the home of PSG after that. In the international stadium scene, the Parc was too small to host aUEFA Champions League final, and whenever the French national football team played outside of Saint-Denis, it was often in other cities.[1]
To date, the2001 Heineken Cup final was the last European club final held at the Parc. English rugby union teamLeicester Tigers were crownedEuropean Rugby Champions Cup winners after defeating French championsStade Français 34–30.[77] The stadium also hosted five matches of the2007 Rugby World Cup, including France's 34–10 defeat byArgentina in the bronze medal final.[78] In November 2013, PSG reached an agreement with the Council of Paris to extend their lease on their stadium for a further 30 years, until 2043, based on a fixed rent plus a variable share of their revenue. They subsequently completed a three-year renovation of the stadium ahead ofUEFA Euro 2016. Its current capacity was kept unchanged, but the seats were improved to be larger and more comfortable.[1][79][80] During the tournament, four group stage matches and one round of 16 match were played at the Parc.[81]
Playing field of the Parc in 2010.
The2019 FIFA Women's World Cup became the first women's tournament held at the stadium, whereFrance defeatedSouth Korea in the opening match. The Parc then hosted four further group stage matches, a round of 16 match, and France's quarter-final elimination against theUnited States.[82] The2023 Trophée des Champions, won by PSG 2–0 againstToulouse, was the first edition to be played at the Parc since 1969.[54][83]
After being snubbed twice in 1900 and 1924, the Parc was selected as the host of the2024 Summer Olympics.[1] Both themen's andwomen's football tournaments were held at the stadium. A total of ten matches were played there, including six group stage matches, two quarter-finals, and both finals. In themen's final,Spain secured theirsecond gold medal with a 5–3 extra-time victory over host country France, while theUnited States clinched their record fifth gold medal by beatingBrazil 1–0 in thewomen's final.[84][85]
The 2016 renovation work increased PSG's stadium revenue from €20 million to €100 million, but the club was interested in purchasing the Parc to increase its capacity to 60,000 in the coming years and establish itself as one of Europe's leading teams.[1][8][80] PSG considered three options: expanding the Parc, moving to the Stade de France, or building a new stadium. In 2023, after the Council of Paris rejected the club's bid to acquire the Parc, a purchase of the Stade de France was explored. PSG abandoned the proposal in January 2024, citing logistical, financial, and cultural reasons. The club confirmed its plans to leave the Parc and build a new stadium in February 2024.[79][86]
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