GL Events likely to helm Stade de France

Article posted by Coliseum, January 14^th, 2025

Image: Coliseum GSVA

The French Government has entered into exclusive negotiations with GL Events in context with calling the shots of the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, France.

‘L’EQUIPE’ stated that the construction firms Vinci and Bouygues who has been holding the reins of the above facility since 1995 was also a contender along with GL Events but the French Government decided to settle for the latter. The Vinci and Bouygues contract is set to end on July 1^st, 2025. The new contract process was initiated by the Government in March 2023.

Lyon (France)-based the GL Events is a global company that provides event services including event organization, venue management and event strategies.

The GL Events is a world-class provider of integrated solutions and services for events operating across the three main market segments: Conventions, conferences, congresses, cultural, sports and political events, and trade shows.

The Stade de France is the national stadium of France located just North of Paris in the commune of Saint-Denis. Its seating capacity of 80,698 makes it the largest stadium in France. The stadium is used by the French national football and rugby union teams for international competitions.

A global leader in construction, concessions and energy services, Vinci is headquartered in Rueil-Malmaison, France.

A French engineering group that specializes in construction, real estate development, media, and telecommunications, Bouygues is headquartered in Paris. The company is committed to sustainable development and digital transformation.

‘gl-events.com’ stated that as a candidate for the Stade de France concession the GL events confirmed that it has entered a phase of exclusive negotiations with representatives of the French Government. While this constitutes a decisive step it does not indicate that the Group has been awarded the contract.

The final decision will be made only after the end of this key negotiation phase expected to be completed by the end of January 2025.

‘gl-events.com’ further stated that during this process, the GL Events are committed to ensuring a successful outcome to these negotiations with the goal of transforming the Stade de France into a genuine events destination in coordination with the sports federations and the local authorities.

Observed Olivier Ginon, Chairman-head honcho of the GL Events Group, “The start of exclusive negotiations for the Stade de France concession marks a new phase that demonstrates the quality of the work accomplished by our teams. For that reason, I wish to thank each and every one of them for their expertise and contributions to this project and hope to be able to provide compelling responses in the coming weeks both for the Government and for the sports federations.”

‘L’EQUIPE’ further stated that if the above negotiations are fruitful the GL Events will be in the saddle of the Stade de France from August 2025 as part of a 30-year deal.

If GL Events gets to run the above arena it is planning to carry out renovation work in the Stade de France pegged at 100 million euros ((£83m/$105m).

The proposal drawn up by the construction firms Vinci and Bouygues envisaged €400m in upgrades as part of a project that would have created a joint company featuring representatives from the French Football Federation (FFF) and the French Rugby Federation (FFR – the governing body for rugby union in France).

The French Football Federation (FFF) is the governing body of football in France. It was formed in 1919 and is based in the capital, Paris. The FFF is a founding member of FIFA and is responsible for overseeing all aspects of the game of football in France, both professional and amateur.

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