Stade des Minimes is a

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

stadium in

Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Par ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. It is the home ground of Toulouse Olympique Broncos.

History

Stade des Minimes or as it is also known Stade Arnauné has been the home of

Toulouse Olympique Toulouse Olympique or TO XIII is a professional rugby league club in Toulouse, south-west France. Founded in 1937, two years after the French Rugby League Federation, the club is a six-time winner of the French Rugby League Championship. The ...

since their founding in 1937. The town council agreed to purchase the ground for the sole use of the new sport, rugby league. When the river Garonne burst its banks in 1965 a test match between

and

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

scheduled for the Stade Municipal in Toulouse was cancelled because of flooding, the game was moved across town to the Stade des Minimes the first international game played at the ground. The same thing happened in 1999 when a round of matches in the

Mediterranean Cup On 11 July 1998 the first ever 13 a side rugby league match was played between Italia and Lebanon, which took place at Leichhardt Oval - Sydney - Australia, the match was known as 'The Mediterranean Cup'. A crowd of almost 10,000 watched as these ...

was moved when Lézignan's Stade du Moulin was also waterlogged. In 2015 when Toulouse Olympique moved to the British rugby league system to play in League 1 Toulouse Olympique moved to the Stade Ernest-Argeles. Toulouse Olympique Broncos who play in the

Elite One Championship Elite 1 is the top level rugby league competition in France, sanctioned by the French Rugby League Federation. The season runs from September to April, which is in contrast to the majority of other major domestic rugby league competitions wor ...

in France remained at the ground. Currently it has a capacity of 4066, including (2,000 seats). It is due to be expanded to reach a 10,000 capacity over the next two years. The renovation plans include the extending of the two main stands, the creation of a shop, a gym, and an administrative office for the club. The cost of the project is estimated to be 8 million euros.''La Dépêche : 'L'indispensable aménagement''
Retrieved 2010-01-06

Rugby League Internationals

External links

Map of the stadium locationHow to get there

References

Rugby league stadiums in France Sports venues in Toulouse Toulouse Olympique Sports venues completed in 1937 {{France-sports-venue-stub