Stade_de_la_Beaujoire
Stade de la Beaujoire
Stadium in Nantes, France
The Stade de la Beaujoire – Louis Fonteneau, mostly known as Stade de la Beaujoire (French pronunciation: [stad də la boʒwaʁ]), is a stadium in Nantes, France. It is the home of French football club FC Nantes.
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The stadium opened for the first time on 8 May 1984, for a friendly game between FC Nantes and Romania in front of 30,000 fans. It was named after Louis Fonteneau, who was president of FC Nantes between 1969 and 1986. It was renovated in 1998, for the 1998 FIFA World Cup. While its original capacity was 52,923, in 1998 it was converted to an all-seater stadium and its current capacity is 38,128. Highest attendance was 51,359 for France-Belgium match in 1984. Previously, the team played at Stade Marcel Saupin.
The stadium also hosts international rugby matches, including France against New Zealand (16–3) on November 15, 1986. In September 2007, it hosted three pool matches of the 2007 Rugby World Cup: Wales vs Canada on September 9, England vs Samoa on September 22 and Wales vs Fiji on September 29. In domestic rugby, La Beaujoire hosted both Top 14 semifinal matches in 2013, and Paris-area Top 14 side Racing Métro 92 will play their final "home" match of the 2013–14 season against Clermont at La Beaujoire on April 19, 2014.
La Beaujoire hosted matches during the UEFA Euro 1984, including a 5–0 victory for France over Belgium with three goals from Michel Platini. Six matches were also played there during the 1998 FIFA World Cup, including the quarter-final between Brazil and Denmark. The stadium was not selected for the UEFA Euro 2016.
The France national football team have played here on five occasions, most recently in 2019 where they played a friendly match against Bolivia.
