Stade Geoffroy-Guichard

Le chaudron (The cauldron)
Full name	Stade Geoffroy-Guichard
Location	Saint-Étienne, Loire, France
Built	1930
Opened	13 September 1931
Renovated	1984,1998
Surface	Grass
Capacity	35,616[1]
Tenants
AS Saint-Étienne

Stade Geoffroy-Guichard is a multi-purpose stadium in Saint-Étienne, France. It is used primarily for football matches, and tournaments such as the 1984 European Football Championship, the Football World Cup 1998 and the Confederations Cup 2003. It is also used for rugby union, and was a venue at the 2007 Rugby World Cup. It is nicknamed "le Chaudron" (the Cauldron), or "l'enfer vert" (the Green Hell), an allusion to the colours worn by the local football team, the AS Saint-Étienne, given during the team's heyday of the 1960s and 1970s when spectators were very numerous (the peak was reached in 1985 with more than 47,000 spectators).

The stadium opened on September 13, 1931, and AS Saint-Étienne's first match there took place on September 17 against FAC Nice. The stadium was named after Geoffroy Guichard, founder of the Casino retail group, who purchased the site on which it was built.

[edit] Description

The stadium was built in 1931 and is able to hold 35,616 people. It is built in the "English style", meaning that there are no corner stands. The four stands are named:

• Charles Paret : 8,541 seats
• Jean Snella : 8,767 seats
• Pierre Faurand : 7,993 seats, including 18 boxes and 1200 VIP seats
• Henri Point : 10,315 seats, including 1,200 for visiting fans

The stadium has been renovated at several points during its history. The biggest renovations came in 1984 (for the European Football Championships) and in 1998 (for the World Cup). The stadium's capacity over time has been as follows:

• 1,800 (1931)
• 5,000 (1935)
• 15,000 (1938)
• 25,000 (1957)
• 39,570 (1968)
• 48,274 (including 22,200 seated) (1984)
• 35,616 (all seated) (1998)

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Stade Geoffroy-Guichard at Stadionwelt

v • d • e Ligue 1 venues 2009–2010 Stade de l'Abbé-Deschamps • Stade Chaban-Delmas • Stade de la Libération • Stade des Alpes • Stade Léon-Bollée • Stade Félix-Bollaert • Stadium Lille-Metropole • Stade du Moustoir • Stade de Gerland • Stade Vélodrome • Stade Louis II • Stade de la Mosson • Stade Marcel Picot • Stade du Ray • Parc des Princes • Stade de la Route de Lorient • Stade Geoffroy-Guichard • Stade Auguste Bonal • Stadium de Toulouse • Stade Nungesser

v • d • e 1998 FIFA World Cup Stadia Parc Lescure (Bordeaux) • Stade Félix-Bollaert (Lens) • Stade de Gerland (Lyon) • Stade Vélodrome (Marseille) • Stade de la Mosson (Montpellier) • Stade de la Beaujoire (Nantes) • Parc des Princes (Paris) • Stade de France (Saint-Denis) • Stade Geoffroy-Guichard (Saint-Étienne) • Stadium (Toulouse)

v • d • e Venues of the 2007 Rugby World Cup France Stade de France (Saint-Denis (Paris)) • Millennium Stadium (Cardiff) • Murrayfield (Edinburgh) • Stade Vélodrome (Marseille) • Parc des Princes (Paris) • Stade Félix-Bollaert ( Lens) • Stade de Gerland (Lyon) • La Beaujoire (Nantes) • Stadium Municipal (Toulouse) • Stade Geoffroy-Guichard (Saint-Étienne) • Stade Chaban-Delmas (Bordeaux) • Stade de la Mosson (Montpellier)

Coordinates: 45°27′38.76″N 4°23′24.42″E / 45.4607667°N 4.3901167°E / 45.4607667; 4.3901167