GL Events, a Lyon-based company specializing in the events sector, founded in 1978, was preferred to the current concessionaire the Vinci-Bouygues consortium to operate the Stade de France for the next three decades.
The end of a long series of which one of the collateral damage could be the Matmut Atlantique. Because Vinci is also a shareholder in Stade Bordeaux Atlantique (SBA), with the Fayat group, the operator of the Bordeaux venue. This is a hard blow for the construction giant which had set up an events subsidiary called Vinci Stadium, of which the Saint-Denis venue was the flagship. Subsidiary which notably offered the organization of concerts in other arenas – the London Stadium, the Allianz Riviera in Nice, the Le Mans stadium, and therefore that of Bordeaux. It is through this subsidiary that Bordeaux hosted a series of major concerts. The Matmut Atlantique saw some big names parade: Mylène Farmer, Depeche Mode, Indochine…
Turbulence
The economic model of Vinci Stadium risks being significantly disrupted by this decision, which will not be without consequences for that of the Bordeaux venue. Information that darkens his prospects. A few days ago, due to the downgrading of the Girondins de Bordeaux, the mutual insurance company Matmut decided to throw in the towel: it will not renew the naming contract which allows it to give its name to the stadium. Signed with the operator SBA, the contract runs until July 2025. After this date, another name will have to be found.
This comes in addition to a broken dialogue between the Métropole de Bordeaux and SBA on the terms of the contract which binds them within the framework of the public-private partnership (PPP), following the failure of conciliation.
-The loss of the Stade de France further weakens Bordeaux as it is precisely the concerts that allowed the stadium to achieve a record 2023 financial year. It reports a record turnover, at 25.2 million euros, for a profit of 108,000 euros.
Since its arrival on the scene in April 2015, this is the first time that the operation of Matmut Atlantique has made a profit, a good result precisely because of the hosting of the Rugby World Cup and the concerts organized. However, it is this last activity which, with the change of delegatee at the Stade de France, risks going through a strong zone of turbulence.
As for the arrival of GL Events at the head of the Stade de France, it brings back memories of the “old” people of Bordeaux. We remember that in 2012, the Lyon group had important views on Bordeaux. He had just missed the call for tenders for the operation of the Exhibition Center, the Palais des Congrès and Hangar 14, ultimately awarded to Congrès et events de Bordeaux (CEB, since renamed Bordeaux Events and more).
