Since the revelation of the future takeover of Paris FC by the Arnault family, the question of the future stadium of the Ligue 2 club has been central. Its current president, Pierre Ferracci, is openly eyeing the Jean Bouin stadium, the home of the Stade Français. But the problems are extremely numerous.
Even before the news of an upcoming takeover by the Arnault family and the Red Bull group, the president of Paris FC Pierre Ferracci made no secret of it. During an interview given to Figaro last May, he openly wanted to leave the Charlety stadium. “A few weeks ago we started discussing with Stade Français to play at Jean-Bouin from the 2025-2026 season. I think we can make an interesting partnership with Stade Français next to the Parc des Princes “.
However, there is no shortage of questions surrounding this move to this 20,000-seat enclosure. And can cause problems. RMC Sport details the points which could complicate such an operation.
The Jean-Bouin stadium, the home of Stade Français
Stade Français is at home in Jean-Bouin. Beyond a simple observation, it is set in stone. Extensively renovated in 2013 at the initiative of former president Max Guazzini, the Parisian rugby club now benefits from an exclusive rental, established by a “public domain occupation agreement” granted by the Paris town hall, signed in 2019 for a period of ten years. As a result, until 2029 and against an annual fee, Stade Français will manage it.
Which means marketing, the development of hospitality spaces, but also the management of operating costs. The maintenance of such a building is not neutral. Stade Français has invested money in boxes and lounges, as well as the installation of a synthetic turf. Like many rugby clubs today (Toulouse, La Rochelle), conversely, it also manages numerous “non-rugby” events and hospitality within its premises to support the costs. What about this organization in the event of the arrival of another club? The discussions promise to be complex.
Sharing, a vast project
Since Jean-Bouin is his “home”, Stade Français has obviously given it a makeover in this sense. The stadium’s dressing is partly pink, the boxes are decorated with the image of the club, its past exploits and its greatest players and the Capri-Sun brand, owned by president Hans-Peter Wild, present on the walls . It is therefore not easy for Paris FC to occasionally appropriate the place to develop its commercial brand.
The same goes for the lawn. Currently synthetic, it should “absolutely be changed” according to Paris FC president Pierre Ferracci. Beyond settling the financing of the installation of a hybrid pitch, the incessant changes in ground markings risk altering the television quality of the match, whether football or rugby. Something that the leaders of the National Rugby League wish to avoid in relation to the broadcaster Canal +.
Another obstacle, during the week, the Stade Français association (the amateur, youth and women’s section) uses the Jean-Bouin field for training. What consequences for its players? During the recent inauguration of the new training center for the first team at Camp de Loges, the general director of Stade Français Thomas Lombard also specified that this little world would remain in Jean-Bouin, that “the center of training did not have the capacity to accommodate the 700 members of the association”.
The insoluble puzzle of scheduling matches
Let’s imagine that Paris FC, current leader of Ligue 2 with two points ahead of Lorient and Dunkirk, moves up to Ligue 1 at the end of the season. Three professional clubs would then share the space of the Parc des Princes and the Jean-Bouin Stadium on weekends. Two stadiums barely separated by…a street. And even before the idea of the arrival of the PFC in the football elite, this can pose a problem. An example showed this less than a month ago, during the 2nd day of the Top 14.
This Saturday, September 14, Stade Français hosted RC Vannes. The schedule for the first five days of the Top 14 having been revealed well in advance, precisely on July 15, we knew that the meeting would take place at 4:30 p.m. However, that same day, the parade of Olympic athletes was planned for the evening on the Champs-Elysées. But above all, on August 31, the Professional Football League announced that the PSG-Brest match would also be played on September 14 at 9 p.m., to anticipate a week of Champions League to come. This choice was not without consequences. Because in the event of a match at the Parc des Princes, the Jean-Bouin stadium must be “emptied”… three hours before the football kick-off.
Impossible to respect if Stade Français wants to fully operate its hospitality after its match, whether it concerns its boxes or its “bodegas”. Consequently, at the request of the Paris Prefecture, the National Rugby League had to urgently cancel the meeting, remove it from the multiplex and bring it forward to 2:30 p.m., at the same time as the only poster planned in this box, namely Toulon-Castres that day. An inconvenience for the broadcaster, but obviously also for the spectators, whether they are Parisian or Vannes supporters. Which had to adapt…
Normally, and when constructing the calendars, the respective Leagues try not to pit the home matches of the two clubs against each other. But over a whole season it’s impossible. Because rugby also tries not to have a Stade Français and… Racing 92 match coexist. This season, we therefore still have six weekends where there will be Stade Français and PSG matches in their stadium.
“A nameless complexity” in the end, according to the leaders of the LNR.
And so many opportunities for broadcasters to have to juggle to find the best formula. The arrival of another resident club at Stade Jean-Bouin would therefore add a new unknown to the equation. It would potentially further reduce the number of non-face-to-face dates in the season. And would certainly lead to a dead end. Ultimately, the NRL can raise its voice and assert the regulations, which say that the stadium where a club matches must be available. We can’t imagine Stade Français having to relocate a home match under duress. It remains for the Parisian club, silent for the moment on the issue, to put forward these arguments during the next discussions which will undoubtedly come with the PFC and the Paris town hall…
