The Stadium Municipal d'Albi is a
multi-purpose stadium
A multi-purpose stadium is a type of stadium designed to be easily used for multiple types of events. While any stadium could potentially host more than one type of sport or event, this concept usually refers to a design philosophy that stres ...
in
Albi
Albi (; ) is a commune in France, commune in southern France. It is the prefecture of the Tarn (department), Tarn Departments of France, department, on the river Tarn (river), Tarn, 85 km northeast of Toulouse. Its inhabitants are called ...
,
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
. It is currently used for
rugby union
Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...
as the home of
SC Albi. After an expansion project completed in 2007, the stadium holds 13,000 with 8,000 seated.
History
Built and opened in 1964 the ground immediately became the home of the towns two rugby clubs
Racing Club Albi XIII and
Sporting Club Albi. The ground is also used for athletic meetings. The ground originally had a main cantilever stand which held 1,800 seated spectators and a smaller unseated stand for 1,200, at either end there were semi-circular standing terraces. Initially called Le Stadium, in 1977 the ground hosted the
French rugby league championship Final despite the fact that
Racing Club Albi XIII were in the final against
AS Carcassonne the 'home' side won 19–10 in front of 18,325 fans, which was and still is the record attendance. It hosted its first international rugby league match in 1979 when the
France national rugby league team beat the
Papua New Guinea rugby league team 16–9. In 1987 the end terracing's were flattened to make way for an Olympic standard eight lane athletic track. At the
2000 Rugby League World Cup the ground played host to two group 3 matches
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
beat
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
56–6 in front of a crowd of 7,696 and
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean n ...
beat
Tonga
Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania. The country has 171 islands, of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in the southern Pacific Ocean. accordin ...
30–22 in front of a crowd of 3,666. The ground was renovated in 2006 and expanded in 2007 giving it its current capacity of 13,058.
Rugby League Internationals
French Rugby League Championship (Elite 1) Finals
Lord Derby Cup Finals
References
Rugby league stadiums in France
Rugby union stadiums in France
Multi-purpose stadiums in France
Athletics (track and field) venues in France
Sports venues in Tarn (department)
Sports venues completed in 1962
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