The Stade Louis II () is a

stadium A stadium ( : stadiums or stadia) is a place or venue for (mostly) outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a tiered structure designed to allow spectators to stand o ...

located in the Fontvieille district of

Monaco Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...

. It serves primarily as a venue for

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

, being the home of

AS Monaco Association Sportive de Monaco Football Club SA, commonly referred to as AS Monaco () or Monaco, is a professional football club based in Monaco that is member of French Football Federation (FFF) and competes in Ligue 1, the top tier of Frenc ...

and the

Monaco national football team The Monaco national football team is a national side that represents Monaco in association football. The team is controlled by the Monégasque Football Federation, the governing body for all football in Monaco. Monaco is not a member of FIFA or ...

. The stadium is most notable for its distinctive nine arches at the away end of the ground. The arena is also used for the Herculis, a

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

meet of the

Diamond League The Diamond League is an annual series of elite track and field athletic competitions comprising fourteen of the best invitational athletics meetings. The series sits in the top tier of the World Athletics (formerly known as the IAAF) one-day mee ...

. The stadium hosted the 1986 and 1998–2012

UEFA Super Cup The UEFA Super Cup is an annual super cup football match organised by UEFA and contested by the winners of the two main European club competitions; the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. The competition's official name was originall ...

matches. Due to Monaco's small size, the stadium is the only football and athletics stadium in the country.

History

The original

Stade Louis II The Stade Louis II () is a stadium located in the Fontvieille district of Monaco. It serves primarily as a venue for football, being the home of AS Monaco and the Monaco national football team. The stadium is most notable for its distinctive ...

was opened in 1939 as the home of

. The decision to build a new sports centre in Monaco dates back to 1979.

Prince Rainier III Rainier III (Rainier Louis Henri Maxence Bertrand Grimaldi; 31 May 1923 – 6 April 2005) was Prince of Monaco from 1949 to his death in 2005. Rainier ruled the Principality of Monaco for almost 56 years, making him one of the longest-ruling m ...

decided to establish a sports area in the Fontvieille district. The prince brought in Parisian architects to build the complex. The work began in May 1981 and ended in 1984, and required 120,000 m³ of concrete, 9,000 tonnes of iron and 2,000 tonnes of steel structure on a median land reclaimed from the sea. The complex was inaugurated on 25 January 1985 by Rainier III. The stadium has a current seating capacity of 16,360, and is named after Louis II, Prince of Monaco, who was the Sovereign Prince of Monaco when the original stadium was built. The vast majority of the stadium's facilities are located underground, including the Gaston-Médecin multi-sports centre, the Prince Albert II aquatic centre and a large car park directly under the pitch. The stadium has hosted major

professional boxing Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse bid, purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional bouts are supervised by a regula ...

world title fights from time to time; those include the Julio César Chávez, Sr. versus

Rocky Lockridge Rick "Rocky" Lockridge (January 10, 1959 – February 7, 2019) was an American professional boxer. He is perhaps best known for having handed Roger Mayweather his first defeat—a first-round knockout in just 98 seconds—earning him the WBA a ...

contest.

Facilities

The

Salle Gaston Médecin Salle Gaston Médecin, or Salle Omnisports, is an indoor sports arena that is located in Fontvieille, Monaco. It is used to host basketball, volleyball, and handball games, judo and fencing matches, and weightlifting and gymnastics competition ...

indoor arena is located under the stands of the football stadium. Salle Gaston Médecin is able to host

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

, and

handball Handball (also known as team handball, European handball or Olympic handball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outcourt players and a goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands with the aim of throwing it into the g ...

games, as well as

judo is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyclopedia Nipponi ...

and

fencing Fencing is a group of three related combat sports. The three disciplines in modern fencing are the foil, the épée, and the sabre (also ''saber''); winning points are made through the weapon's contact with an opponent. A fourth discipline, s ...

matches, and

weightlifting Weightlifting generally refers to activities in which people lift weights, often in the form of dumbbells or barbells. People lift various kinds of weights for a variety of different reasons. These may include various types of competition; promo ...

and

gymnastics Gymnastics is a type of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, dedication and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, shou ...

competitions. It has a seating capacity of 3,000 people for basketball games, and 3,700 people for

concerts A concert is a live music performance in front of an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, choir, or band. Concerts are held in a wide variet ...

.Présentation - Quelques chiffres - Salle omnisports : 3.700 places .
/ref> The stadium complex, besides the football stadium and athletics track and the Salle Gaston Médecin, also contains the aquatic centre Prince Albert II, a large office complex, and also houses the

International University of Monaco Founded in 1986, the International University of Monaco (IUM) (french: Université internationale de Monaco) is located in the Monaco, Principality of Monaco. It offers undergraduate and graduate degrees in business specialized in finance, market ...

(IUM), which specializes in business education.

Gallery

File:Monaco005.jpg, File:Arches of Stade Louis II.jpg, File:Stade Louis II (esterno).JPG, File:Salle Gaston Médecin.JPG,

References

External links

Stade Louis II

Presentation Stade Louis II
{{Authority control

Diamond League venues Fontvieille, Monaco Sports venues in Monaco Football venues in Monaco Athletics (track and field) venues in Monaco National stadiums Sports venues completed in 1939

History

Facilities

Gallery

See also

References

External links