New 500M Euro stadium for France
The Fédération Française de Rugby (FFR) has announced plans to build a new 82,000-seater stadium in Evry, 25km south of Paris despite questions over financing
The ultra-modern "Grand Stade" is expected to be ready in 2017 and will replace the Stade de France as the 'home' of French rugby.
It will have a closing roof and a multi-purpose, movable pitch. The FFR says it will host at least 20 events a year, including five or six French Tests but also concerts and other forms of entertainment.
The move to the former racecourse in the suburb of Evry Centre Essonne comes after the FFR tired of playing second-fiddle to football matches at the Stade de France, which was built for the 1998 football World Cup.
The French governing body is also hoping to follow the example of Twickenham, which is owed by the English Rugby Football Union, and is a direct source of income.
The FFR is frustrated by the cost of holding games at Stade de France - nearly €5m for every game. Twickenham can generate as much as €6m per game.
Read more: http://www.planetrugby.com/story/0%2...1750%2c00.html
