| Stade de la Beaujoire – Louis Fonteneau | |
| Nickname: | La Beaujoire |
| Location: | Route de Saint Joseph 44300, Nantes, France |
| Coordinates: | 47.256°N -1.525°W |
| Opened: | 1984[1] |
| Surface: | Desso GrassMaster |
| Architect: | Berdje Agopyan |
| Tenants: | FC Nantes (1984–present) |
| Seating Capacity: | 35,318 |
| Pushpin Map: | France Nantes#France |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location in Nantes##Location in France |
The Stade de la Beaujoire – Louis Fonteneau, mostly known as Stade de la Beaujoire (in French pronounced as /stad də la boʒwaʁ/), is a stadium in Nantes, France. It is the home of French football club FC Nantes, known as the canaries.
The stadium was built in a hexagon shape for Football use. The construction was in time for the 1984 European Football Championship and was renovated for the Football World Cup in 1998. The stadium has also hosted international Rugby union matches, such as the group stages of both the 2007 and 2023 Rugby World Cups. Then also in 2024, the stadium again hosted an international football tournament for some of the men and women matches of the Paris Olympics.[2] As well as sports, the venue also hosts music concerts.
The current stadium is in use for FC Nantes football team, it was built as a second stadium in the city of Nantes replacing the Marcel-Saupin stadium as the team's home ground. The club's owners chose Berdje Agopyan as the architect of their new stadium, he was also responsible for the design of Parc des Princes stadium in Paris in the 1970s. The project took almost 3 years to complete from the city council's approval in June 1982.[3]
The stadium opened for the first time on 8 May 1984, for a friendly game between FC Nantes and Romania in front of 30,000 fans. It was named after Louis Fonteneau, who was president of FC Nantes between 1969 and 1986. It was renovated in 1998 for the 1998 FIFA World Cup. While its original capacity was 52,923, in 1998 it was converted to an all-seater stadium and its current capacity is 35,322.[4] Highest attendance was 51,359 for France-Belgium match in 1984.
The stadium also hosts international rugby matches, including France against New Zealand (16–3) on 15 November 1986. In September 2007, it hosted three pool matches of the 2007 Rugby World Cup: Wales vs Canada on 9 September, England vs Samoa on 22 September and Wales vs Fiji on 29 September. In domestic rugby, La Beaujoire hosted both Top 14 semifinal matches in 2013, and Paris-area Top 14 side Racing Métro 92 played their final "home" match of the 2013–14 season against Clermont at La Beaujoire on 19 April 2014.
La Beaujoire hosted matches during the UEFA Euro 1984, including a 5–0 victory for France over Belgium with three goals from Michel Platini. Six matches were also played there during the 1998 FIFA World Cup, including the quarter-final between Brazil and Denmark. The stadium was not selected for the UEFA Euro 2016.
The France national football team have played here on five occasions, most recently in 2019 where they played a friendly match against Bolivia.
Since 1984, the stadium in Nantes has hosted international tournament matches for football and rugby competitions in France.[3]
The stadium was selected as one of the venues for the 1984 UEFA European Championship and held the following matches:[5] [6]
| Date | Team #1 | Result | Team #2 | Round | Attendance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 June 1984 | 5–0 | Group 1 | 51,359 | |||
| 20 June 1984 | 1–0 | Group 2 | 24,464 |
The stadium was one of the venues of the 1998 FIFA World Cup and held the following matches:[7]
| Date | Team #1 | Result | Team #2 | Round | Attendance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 June 1998 | 2–3 | Group D | 35,500 | |||
| 16 June 1998 | 3–0 | Group A | 35,500 | |||
| 20 June 1998 | 0–1 | Group H | 35,500 | |||
| 23 June 1998 | 1–1 | Group B | 35,500 | |||
| 25 June 1998 | 0–1 | Group F | 35,500 | |||
| 3 July 1998 | 3–2 | Quarter-finals | 35,500 |
The stadium was used in the group stage of the 2007 Rugby World Cup in France.[8]
| Date | Time (CET) | Team #1 | Result | Team #2 | Round | Attendance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 September 2007 | 14:00 | 42–17 | 37,500 | ||||
| 22 September 2007 | 16:00 | 44–22 | 37,022 | ||||
| 29 September 2007 | 17:00 | 34–38 | 37,080 |
The stadium was one of the venues of the 2023 Rugby World Cup, and hosted the following matches:[9]
| Date | Time (CET) | Team #1 | Result | Team #2 | Round | Attendance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 September 2023 | 21:00 | 59–16 | 35,673 | ||||
| 30 September 2023 | 15:00 | 59–5 | 37,000 | ||||
| 7 October 2023 | 15:00 | 43–19 | 33,580 | ||||
| 8 October 2023 | 13:00 | 27–39 | 33,624 |
The football tournament for Men and Women at the 2024 Summer Olympics.[10]
| Date | Team #1 | Result | Team #2 | Round | Attendance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24 July 2024 | 0–0 | 13,945 | ||||
| 25 July 2024 | 2–1 | 10,377 | ||||
| 27 July 2024 | 0–1 | 20,658 | ||||
| 28 July 2024 | 1–0 | 11,079 | ||||
| 30 July 2024 | 0–1 | 11,671 | ||||
| 31 July 2024 | 3–1 | 6,480 | ||||
| 3 August 2024 | 0–1 | 32,280 | ||||
| 8 August 2024 | 0–6 | 27,391 |
Since the stadium's inauguration in 1984, many musical acts have played concerts in the stadium, memorable concerts include:[3]
A new stadium named YelloPark was planned to replace the Stade de la Beaujoire, which was to be demolished for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris and the 2023 Rugby World Cup.[11] On 26 February 2019, the project was cancelled.