Matmut Stadium Gerland

Matmut Stadium Gerland
	Stade Gerland before the Australia-Japan game at the 2007 Rugby Union World Cup.
Earlier names
	Stade de Gerland (until 2016)
Data
place	353 Avenue Jean Jaurès 69007 Lyon , France;
Coordinates	45 ° 43 '25.5 " N , 4 ° 49' 57" E Coordinates: 45 ° 43 '25.5 " N , 4 ° 49' 57" E
classification	4th
owner	City of Lyon
opening	May 1926
Renovations	1961, 1982, 1998
surface	Natural grass
costs	32,655,000 € (remodeling World Cup 1998)
architect	1926: Tony Garnier; 1984: René Gagès, Michel Relave ; 1998: Albert Constantin
capacity	43,051 seats
playing area	112 × 65 m
Societies)
	Lyon OU;
Events
	Olympique Lyon Games (1950–2015); 1954 Rugby League World Cup; Rugby League World Cup 1972; European Football Championship 1984; Final of the 1986 European Cup Winners' Cup ; Tournoi de France 1997; Football World Cup 1998; Final in the European Challenge Cup 1999 ( Rugby Union ); Confederations Cup 2003; Rugby Union World Cup 2007; Games from Lyon OU (since 2017);

The Matmut Stadium Gerland is a rugby - and football stadium in the district of Gerland, in the southern French city of Lyon . The French first division club Olympique Lyon played their home games here from 1950 to 2015. Today it holds 43,051 spectators. The complex is part of the French patrimoine du xxe siècle ( German heritage of the 20th century ) and the four old arches at the entrances have been a listed building since 1967 .

history

The construction of the stadium goes back to the then mayor Édouard Herriot . In the early 1910s, he commissioned the architect Tony Garnier to design a sports and event facility in preparation for the 1914 International City Exhibition in Lyon. After the First World War interrupted construction from 1914 to 1918, work continued in 1919. Mayor Édouard Herriot inaugurated the stadium complex with athletics facility and cycling track in May 1926 . The cinder track was renewed in 1942 for an international athletics match between France and Switzerland . On August 27, 1950, Olympique Lyon played its first game at the Stade Gerland. Olympique managed a 3-0 victory against CA Paris . In 1961 there were plans to expand the stadium to 85,000 seats for the 1968 Summer Olympics , if the bid was accepted. Mexico City prevailed against Detroit , Lyon and Buenos Aires in the first ballot . The cycling track was removed from the facility.

The French national soccer team met the Spanish national soccer team for their first international match on October 17, 1968 in the Stade Gerland . The end result is 1: 3 for the visiting team. On September 9, 1980, the game Olympique Lyon and AS Saint-Étienne gathered 48,552 spectators. This is the venue's record attendance to this day. On the occasion of the European Football Championship in 1984 , renovations were carried out according to the plans of the architects René Gagès and Michel Relave. At that time the stadium held over 51,000 spectators. On May 2, 1986, the Stade Gerland was the venue for the final of the European Cup Winners' Cup . In front of 50,000 spectators, the then Soviet team Dynamo Kiev won 3-0 against Atlético Madrid from Spain. On October 14, 1994, Lyon and the Stade Gerland were selected as one of the venues for the 1998 World Cup .

For the soccer world championship it was modernized from July 1996 according to the plans of Albert Constantin. The north and south stands, Virage Tony Garnier and Virage Coubertin , were rebuilt behind the gates. The architectural style of these new grandstands therefore differs from the two old stands, Tribune Jean Jaurès and Tribune Jean Bouin . Characteristic of the North and the South Bend are the ones with bows equipped roofs. The conversion cost a total of € 32,655,000 . A year before the World Cup, the Tournoi de France football tournament was held as a dress rehearsal in addition to Lyon in Paris ( Parc des Princes ), Montpellier ( Stade de la Mosson ) and Nantes ( Stade de la Beaujoire ). The final of the European Challenge Cup ( Rugby Union ) 1999 in the Stade Gerland between AS Montferrandaise and CS Bourgoin-Jallieu ended on February 27 in front of 31,986 spectators with 35:16.

On June 26, 2003, a tragic event occurred in the Stade Gerland. The 28-year-old Cameroonian national soccer player Marc-Vivien Foé collapsed on the field in the 71st minute of the Confederations Cup semi -finals between Cameroon and Colombia and remained motionless. After an hour of attempted resuscitation , only death could be determined at the Lyon Medical Center. Marc-Vivien Foé died of sudden cardiac death .

Extract from Olympique Lyon and future

At the beginning of 2016, Olympique Lyon moved to their new home, the Parc Olympique Lyonnais . The first game of Ligue 1 took place on January 9, 2016 against ES Troyes AC . On December 6, 2015, OL competed against SCO Angers (0: 2) in front of 36,068 spectators for the last league game at Stade Gerland. In the last derby between OL and AS Saint-Étienne on November 8, 2015, the home side defeated their rivals 3-0 in front of 38,752 visitors. On November 24, 2015, the last UEFA Champions League match against Belgian club KAA Gent (1: 2) took place in front of 30,206 spectators. On December 16, 2015, the last sixteen match in the Coupe de la Ligue 2015/16 between Olympique and the second division FC Tours (2-1) was played.

There were no more precise plans for the future of the plant. The rugby club Lyon OU played in the Matmut Stadium, only three kilometers away, and was a possible successor to Olympique. Lyon OU used the stadium for top games and filled it with 37,000 spectators. The club's own Matmut Stadium was only opened at the end of 2011 with 8,000 seats and expanded to 11,805 seats in 2014. As the magazine Les Potins d'Angèle reported in November 2015, a renovation of the stadium and the reduction of the capacity from 40,000 to 24,000 is planned for 40 million euros. This is to be done mainly by dismantling the back gate stands. Lyon OU moved into the new venue for the 2017/18 season.

At the beginning of November 2016 it was announced that the insurance company Matmut had become the stadium's name sponsor . The contract has a term of ten years with annual payments of two million euros. The new venue of the rugby club Lyon OU will in future be called Matmut Stadium Gerland .

Other use

In addition to the sporting events, the facility is the venue for concerts. So z. B. the Rolling Stones , David Bowie , Pink Floyd , Johnny Hallyday , Genesis and Michael Jackson in the Lyon stadium.