In the absence of a new stadium the assessment made by Bernard Lemaître, President of the French professional rugby union club RC Toulon, is unequivocal. Their residence – the Stade Mayol – has gone into a state of total disrepair.
‘francebleu.fr’ stated that Lemaître believes that “the future of RC Toulon is bleak as their home ground is in a bad shape”. Renovating their home facility – the Stade Mayol in Toulon, France – is a pipe dream, according to those close to him. The decision now rests with the future Mayor of the City.
The Rugby Club Toulonnais, also referred to as Rugby Club Toulon or simply Toulon, is a French professional rugby union club based in Toulon (France) and competing in the Top 14, the highest level of the French rugby union system. The club plays its home games at the 17,500-capacity Stade Mayol.
The Stade Mayol is a multipurpose stadium in Toulon, France. It is currently used mostly for rugby union matches and is the home stadium of RC Toulonnais. The stadium is able to hold 17,500 people.
In a presser held recently Lemaître made no bones about the fact that the Stade Mayol no longer meets the benchmarks of a professional rugby club like RC Toulon. Constructing a new stadium is the only solution.
Remarked Lemaître, “Without a new stadium the future of RC Toulon is in dire straits. The chunk of the revenue must come from the stadium.”
The club’s financial health is nothing to write home about. While the merchandise part is fine the coffers, overall, are not jangling.
The Stade Mayol has been ranked 14 out of 14 by the French sports newspaper devoted to rugby – ‘Midi Olympique’.
‘francebleu.fr’ further stated that the figures speak for themselves – the hospitality revenue comes to five million euros per year (excluding the value-added tax [VAT]) for RC Toulon compared to 13.2 million euros per year which their peer team La Rochelle enjoys. The concession stand brings in 635,000 euros per year for RC Toulon while their peer team Lyon OU Rugby generates 1.7 million euros. The Stade Mayol has 1,333 VIP seats while the 18,000-capacity Stade Marcel-Deflandre in La Rochelle (France) has 3,693 VIP seats. And the French rugby union club Provence Rugby, the team led by Philippe Saint-André (French rugby union footballer and coach), home ground – the 8,767-capacity Stade Maurice David in Aix-en-Provence, France – boasts 1,450 VIP seats.
Asserts Martin d’Argenlieu, RC Toulon Deputy General Manager (DGM), “Renovating the Stade Mayol is a wishful thinking. When renovating a stadium with more than 15,000 seats a 12-meter zone around the stadium would be required. This would necessitate the demolition of the nearby buildings, including the Palais Neptune and part of the shopping center, the blocking of the City Center for years, etc. And we wouldn’t be able to play at the Stade Mayol during that time and will have to find another stadium. The price tag would come to 400 million euros. The only solution is to build another stadium. The political leaders must also address this problem with a sense of urgency.”
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