The Stade Marcel-Saupin is a sports complex in the city of Nantes ( Loire-Atlantique),

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

. It was opened in 1937 under the name Stade Malakoff, and was used primarily by Stade nantais université club for

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...

, then became the stadium of

FC Nantes Football Club de Nantes (; Gallo: ''Naunnt''), commonly referred to as FC Nantes or simply Nantes (), is a French professional football club based in Nantes in Pays de la Loire. The club was founded on 21 April 1943, during World War II, as a ...

after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

until the club moved to the Stade de la Beaujoire in 1984.

History

At first, the stadium did not have lights for night matches; these were not installed until 1957. There was room for 14,000 spectators, but there were only 1,200 seats. When FC Nantes was promoted to Ligue 1, the stadium was renovated and enlarged for 25,000 spectators. In May 1965, it was renamed Marcel-Saupin, after the recently deceased president and founding member of FC Nantes, despite his links to collaborators during World War II. The unfavourable location of the stadium, wedged between the

Loire The Loire (, also ; ; oc, Léger, ; la, Liger) is the longest river in France and the 171st longest in the world. With a length of , it drains , more than a fifth of France's land, while its average discharge is only half that of the Rhône ...

and the urban centre, limited its expansion to 29,500 spectators in the 1970s, despite the increasing popularity of the club. For more than twenty years, "Saupin" was one of the legendary stadiums of

French football Association football is the most popular sport in France. The French Football Federation (FFF, Fédération Française de Football) is the national governing body and is responsible for overseeing all aspects of association football in the cou ...

, following the success of FC Nantes. From the fireworks of Philippe Gondet and Jacky Simon to the championship matches between Nantes and AS Saint-Étienne, and tough matches with old Atlantic rivals Girondins de Bordeaux, it was there the ''Canaries'' wrote the most glorious chapters of their history with six French championship titles, their first

Coupe de France The Coupe de France, formerly known as the Coupe Charles Simon, is the premier knockout cup competition in French football organized by the French Football Federation (FFF). It was first held in 1917 and is open to all amateur and profession ...

, and a European semi-final in 1980. The France national team also played there many times in the early 1970s before their resurgence in popularly forced them to play most of their matches at the Parc des Princes in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

. After a final title in 1983, FC Nantes said goodbye to Saupin on April 28, 1984, after which they moved to the Beaujoire, a modern stadium constructed for the 1984 European championship, hosted by France. Saupin became the stadium of the Nantes reserve team. Marcel-saupin-ext

As part of an urban renewal project led by the Parisian architect Philippe Gazeau, the stadium was largely demolished in August 2006. Only the north stands, which are now named after Oscar Muller, and the field were preserved so that the reserve team would still be able to play there. The rest of the site houses the Maison des sciences de l'homme and the Institut d'études advancées of the

University of Nantes The University of Nantes (french: Université de Nantes) is a public university located in the city of Nantes, France. In addition to the several campuses scattered in the city of Nantes, there are two satellite campuses located in Saint-Nazaire ...

, a hotel-residence, and corporate offices. On 10 October 2009, Nantes hosted FC Blois in a CFA2 match, the first game in the new Stade Marcel-Saupin. Nantes defeated Blois 1-0 in front of 760 spectators.

Concerts

In 1984,

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

Joan Baez Joan Chandos Baez (; born January 9, 1941) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and activist. Her contemporary folk music often includes songs of protest and social justice. Baez has performed publicly for over 60 years, releasing more ...

, and Carlos Santana played a festival at the stadium.

External links

Historique du stade Marcel-Saupin
{{FC Nantes FC Nantes FC Nantes (women) Marcel Saupin Buildings and structures in Nantes Rugby union stadiums in France Rugby league stadiums in France Rugby League World Cup stadiums Sports venues completed in 1937 Sports venues in Loire-Atlantique