Move afoot to block PSG’s new stadium

Image: Le Parc des Princes, Валерий Дед, CC BY 3.0

The City of Paris is set to take legal action against Paris Saint-Germain’s (PSG) plans to move to a new stadium by annulling the Région Île-de-France’s amendment to set aside land for the venue.

Yahoo said this amendment provides PSG with 50 hectares of land, in an unspecified location, that can be earmarked for a new stadium.

But according to information from Le Parisien, the deputy mayor in charge of sports, Pierre Rabadan, has presented a motion to the city council to block the land reservation plans.

PSG and Paris town hall have been at loggerheads for years over the future of the Parc des Princes. PSG has said it wants to leave the venue after the club was blocked from buying the stadium by Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo.

The Parc des Princes is an all-seater football stadium in Paris, France. It is located to the South-West of the French capital, in 16th arrondissement, near the 19,904-capacity Stade Jean-Bouin and Stade Roland Garros.

The stadium, with a seating capacity of 47,929 spectators has been the home of football club Paris Saint-Germain since 1974. PSG’s lease on their tenancy runs until 2043.

Les Parisiens are no longer willing to remain at their historic stadium if they cannot purchase it from the City of Paris. The city believes that it is a cultural landmark that they are not willing to sell.

The club’s Qatari owners were keen to buy the Parc des Princes, built in 1967, from the City of Paris for a sum of around £85 million. They had already spent over £70 million on maintenance issues and estimated a further £420 million would be needed for an expanded upgrade.

But Mayor Hidalgo played hard ball and quoted an eye-watering figure of £250 million for a sale.

Yahoo further stated that discussions have not always been this fraught and the city was initially thought to be open to selling the stadium to its residents.

However, the negotiations as well as the relationships at the heart of the story have deteriorated in the years since. And this has led to PSG’s search for a new future home.

In quotes provided to Le Parisien, PSG state, “The club is moving forward calmly with its new stadium project and is pleased to count on the support of the region.”

The club continued by blasting the actions of the town hall, “The sudden panic… confirms the seriousness of this project.

“The City of Paris cannot claim to be open to dialogue and torpedo all alternatives that the club is working on. This reveals the blatant hypocrisy that the city hall has demonstrated since the beginning of the negotiations.”

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