The town hall of Paris is not “a candidate for the takeover of the Stade de France”, assured Wednesday the mayor Anne Hidalgo, even if a company which is close to it participates in the “study” of a candidacy for the operation of the enclosure, carried by GL Events, explained his sports assistant.
In open conflict with PSG, a candidate for this takeover after having suffered a refusal from the town hall to sell it the Parc des Princes, the city of Paris “will not be a candidate (…) for the takeover of the Stade de France” through of any partnership, said the socialist elected to the Council of Paris. She was responding to the opponent (Horizons) Pierre-Yves Bournazel, who questioned her about the reality of a “candidacy carried by the Société anonyme d’exploitation du Palais omnisports Paris-Bercy (SAE-POPB), in partnership with the company GL Events”, to “ensure the operation of the Stade de France”.
For this alternative to the takeover envisaged by the State, owner of the Stade de France, the events giant GL Events “requested a contribution in expertise from Paris Entertainment Company, new name of SAE-POPB” which manages, in addition Bercy, the Bataclan and the future Arena de La Chapelle, said sports assistant Pierre Rabadan. “It is premature to know if they will go to the end of the response (to the call for tenders), if the file will be received, analyzed, winner. We do not know if the Stade de France will benefit from a new concession or if it will be sold”, relativized Mr. Rabadan.
To buy or operate the Stade de France from mid-2025, the State has launched two procedures in parallel: one relates to the sale of this 80,000-seat stadium, the other to the renewal of the concession granted in 1995 to the Vinci-Bouygues consortium, the two construction groups that built the stadium for the 1998 World Cup. Serious candidates must submit a substantial offer in the fall. Only the Qatari owners of PSG have officially come forward for the takeover so far, after Anne Hidalgo’s decision in January not to sell them the Parc des Princes.
Tenant of the latter on the basis of a thirty-year lease which runs until 2044, PSG offered to buy it back for 38 million, reaffirmed Anne Hidalgo, “which we judged to be in the order of spoliation Parisians”. “For several months, we have not been able to resume a serene discussion outside the press” with the club, recognized Pierre Rabadan.
