The French government will consider selling the country’s biggest sports stadium, the Stade de France, to the Paris Saint-Germain football club, according to a minister.
(Bloomberg) — The French government will consider selling the country’s biggest sports stadium, the Stade de France, to the Paris Saint-Germain football club, according to a minister.
A sale of the national stadium is being considered alongside the option of granting a new operating concession, Sports Minister Amelie Oudea-Castera said in an interview published Sunday in the Journal du Dimanche.
A sale to PSG, which has mega-star players Kylian Mbappe, Lionel Messi and Neymar, will be considered along with other possibilities, she said. The club plays at the smaller Parc de Princes stadium, owned by the City of Paris.
“We don’t want to close any doors,” she was quoted as saying, adding that having a resident club has been shown to be the best way to “balance” the business model. A call for proposals will open as early as Monday.
The Stade de France, with its elliptical disk-shaped roof and 80,000-spectator capacity, was built for the 1998 Football World Cup and has hosted a string of major sporting and entertainment events. Later this year it will host World Rugby Cup games and the 2024 summer Olympics. French infrastructure giants Bouygues SA and Vinci SA hold a 30-year concession on the stadium that began in 1995 and expires in 2025.
The possibility that PSG could be a buyer comes after its president, Nasser Al-Khelaifi, last year said in an interview in Doha that “Paris deserves a better stadium.” The club is considering leaving the Parc des Princes, with Stade de France one of the places it could move to.
Read more: Paris Saint-Germain Considering Leaving Home Stadium, Stake Sale
FIFA, soccer’s governing body, is also vying to take over the Stade de France, L’Equipe reported last week. Le Figaro estimated the stadium could be valued at between 400 million euros ($425 million) and 600 million euros.
A 2018 report by national auditor Cour de Comptes concluded that the current concession structure has been “chaotic” and costly for tax payers. It recommended the sale to an entity that would partner with the country’s football and rugby federations.
A spokesperson for PSG couldn’t be reached for immediate comment.
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
©2023 Bloomberg L.P.