Stade de Saint-Jean is a multi-purpose stadium in the Saint-Jean quarter of Saint Barthélemy, an overseas collectivity of France in the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

. It is the only stadium on the island and currently hosts matches of local

rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby league: 13 players per side *** Masters Rugby League *** Mod league *** Rugby league nines *** Rugby league sevens *** Touch (sport) *** Wheelchair rugby league ** Rugby union: 1 ...

teams and the

Saint Barthélemy national football team The Saint Barthélemy national football team is the official association football team of Saint Barthélemy. The association is in the process of joining the Caribbean Football Union and CONCACAF and therefore cannot yet compete in tournaments sa ...

History

The stadium was originally constructed sometime before 1979 and regularly had poor soil and grass conditions. In 2010, Roman Abramovich, Russian billionaire and owner of Chelsea F.C., purchased personal property on the island and donated a reported 3 million euros to renovate the stadium. The renovation included the installation of

artificial turf Artificial turf is a surface of synthetic fibers made to look like natural grass. It is most often used in arenas for sports that were originally or are normally played on grass. However, it is now being used on residential lawns and commer ...

and an athletic track. Shortly after completion, the stadium was inaugurated with a celebrity football match which included former professionals

Robert Pires Robert Emmanuel Pires (born 29 October 1973) is a French association football, football coach and former professional Football player, player. Pires played for French clubs FC Metz, Metz and Olympique de Marseille, Marseille prior to his time wi ...

and

José Touré José Touré (born 24 April 1961 in Nancy) is a French former professional football player. Club career On 11 June 1983, Touré scored a memorable goal for Nantes in the Coupe de France final to give his side the lead against Paris Saint-G ...

and formula one racer Paul Belmondo. The reconstruction of the stadium and addition of an adjacent resort for visiting teams allowed the

to play its first home match in 2010 against

Saint Martin Saint Martin may refer to: People * Saint Martin of Tours (c. 316–397), Bishop of Tours, France * Saint Martin of Braga (c. 520–580), archbishop of Bracara Augusta in Gallaecia (now Braga in Portugal) * Pope Martin I (598–655) * Saint Mart ...

. These upgrades were again paid for by Abramovich following Hurricane Irma.

References

National stadiums Saint Barthélemy national football team Sports venues in Saint Barthélemy {{Caribbean-sports-venue-stub