France Meinau Stadium rejig work set to begin

Article posted by Coliseum, May 16^th, 2023

Image: Populous

Renovation work on the Meinau Stadium in Strasbourg, France, will begin in the Summer of 2023. The rejig work is scheduled to be over within three years.

‘francebleu.fr’ stated that the redecoration work will see the Meinau Stadium capacity rise to 32,000 from the present strength of 27,500.

The 27,500-capacity Meinau Stadium is a football stadium in Strasbourg, France. It is the home ground of RC Strasbourg Alsace and has also hosted international matches, including one game of the 1938 World Cup, two games of EURO 1984 and the final of the Union of European Football Association (UEFA) Cup Winners’ Cup in 1988.

The RC Strasbourg Alsace is a French association football club founded in 1906, based in the City of Strasbourg, Alsace, France. It is currently playing in Ligue 1, the top tier of French football, ever since winning the 2016-2017 Ligue 2 championship.

The UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup was a European football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The Cup was, chronologically, the second seasonal inter-European club competition organized by the UEFA. It was abolished in 1999.

Nyon (Switzerland)-based the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs football, futsal and beach football in Europe and the transcontinental countries of Turkey, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Russia, and Kazakhstan, as well as some Asian countries such as Israel, Cyprus and Armenia. The UEFA consists of 55 national association members. Because of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, FIFA and UEFA suspended all Russian national teams and clubs from any FIFA and UEFA competitions.

France Bleu Alsace (a network of local and regional radio stations in France) revealed in February that the work for the renovation of the Meinau Stadium in Strasbourg has been delayed and will now start in the Summer of 2023 and is scheduled to be over by the Summer of 2026. The bulk of the work will be carried out in 2024 and 2025.

‘francebleu.fr’ further stated that initially, the remodeling work was scheduled to start in Spring and get completed by the end of 2025. Plans as regards the above development were revealed to the media way back in 2019.

France Bleu is a network of local and regional radio stations in France, part of the national public broadcasting group Radio France. The network has a public service mission to serve the local audiences and provides local news and content from each of its 44 stations.

Eye-watering inflation is said to be the reason behind the delay. Initially, the revamp work price tag was pegged at 100 million euros excluding taxes. Now, it has gone up to 160 million euros. The local authorities will pick up the tab. The fiscal contribution of the Eurometropolis of Strasbourg (City Government office in Strasbourg) increases from 50 to 75.8 million euros, that of the Grand Est Region (administrative region in Northeastern France) from 25 to 37.5 million, for the City of Strasbourg and the European Community of Alsace, the fiscal contribution increases from 12.5 million each to 18.8 million euros. The RC Strasbourg Alsace will finance the renovation to the tune of 9.1 million euros.

The Mayor of Strasbourg, Jeanne Barséghian, informed that the sustainability quotient will be accorded topmost priority and environmental-friendly materials will be used in the repurposing work of the facility.

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