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Let’s talk about sport, let’s think about business. The showdown between Nasser al-Khelaïfi and Anne Hidalgo has just begun. At the center of the debates a question arises: what should we do with the Parc des Princes?
The political imbroglio between the mayor of Paris and PSG could cost football fans dearly. Club leaders threaten to leave the Park if the situation is not resolved quickly.
Does the legendary sign marked by passes from Ronaldinho, Raí, Pauleta or even the great Zlatan still have a future? The 48,000 seats available to the Park are no longer sufficient for Qatari ambitions. And for good reason… their main rivals on the European stage show packed stadiums, sometimes up to double the capacity of the Parc des Princes. Elsewhere, Barcelona’s Camp Nou has 99,354 seats and Munich’s Allianz Arena has 75,024, where the famed ‘twelfth man’ gives far more of a voice…
Nasser and Anne as a dog and a cat
The basic project was a buyout. The stadium would later become the sole property of PSG, who would expand its enclosure as they pleased. Twelve thousand seats were planned, which would bring the total capacity to 60,000 seats… and the millions more that follow!
But the Paris planning commission said no. Anne Hidalgo has rejected the first purchase offer from PSG. 40 million euros for such a legendary stadium? Out of question ! But the counter-proposal you then formulated was no less grotesque: 350 million euros. A prohibitive price to send a message, the Parc des Princes is not for sale.
A dead end and losing deals
And the rigidity of the mayor of Paris has consequences. the PSG now want to move and settle outside the capital. A logical decision, but one that poses accessibility problems. Joinville-le-Pont (94) or Poissy (78) is fine, but it’s outside Paris. And RER A alone will have difficulty integrating these peaks of attendance several times a week in addition to the daily users…
The other option available to PSG? The stadium of France. A capacity of 81,338 seats that would increase 87 million euros a year in revenue from the PSG ticket office. Here too there is a problem, that of the identity of the club. The Stade de France seems impersonal, loaded with a history that is not that of PSG. And its architecture lacks proximity to players. Again this is not ideal.
The Paris city hall, for its part, shows a catastrophic financial balance and deep debts (up to 7.75 billion euros as of December 31st). The sale of the Park – which they haven’t dealt with for years – should have relieved them. But as we get closer Olympic Games 2024, Anne Hidalgo wants to be strong and show the French that not everything can be privatized. To the detriment – no doubt – of PSG fans…
The extensions…
It will be a fight on RMC! • The official UFC broadcaster in France has extended the contract with the league. The duration was not disclosed, but Arthur Dreyfuss, chief executive officer of Altice France, commented extensively on the content of the agreement. RMC will broadcast all numbered nights, preliminary ballots, and will have access to two hundred hours of archive and additional programming. Good news just weeks away from meeting Jon Jones against our national ‘good boy’, Cyril Gane. The UFC and France are just the beginning of a love story that promises good things.
The financial challenge of the Pays de Cassel • Facing PSG, the small R1 club had no escape… However, this draw in the round of 16 of the Coupe de France represented excellent news, at least financially, for the sports union. The Pays de Cassel, which has an annual budget of 150,000 euros, has seen its revenues explode. The match brought in around €700,000 gross. As per tradition, PSG should donate its share to the amateur club, thus ensuring a few good years of tranquility.