One of the most important things for the majority of football supporters is being able to watch their team live whenever they want to. The problem is that the clubs that aren’t very good have no real access requirements, whilst those that are brilliant struggle to be able to get as many people into their ground as they would like.
At the same time, some teams have played in the same stadium for decades, so the idea of moving isn’t one that appeals to a lot of people. That is something of the position that Paris Saint-Germain find themselves in, with the club considering moving to a new location in the near future.
Why PSG Want to Move
The Parc des Princes is a wonderful stadium that is full of history. It has been the home to Paris Saint-Germain since 1974, four years after the French club’s formation. The capacity of the ground sits at 48,229, which is relatively small for a top-class club.
To give you some indication of what we’re talking about, Liverpool FC’s capacity used to be around 45,000, with the club having made numerous changes to Anfield in order to turn it in to a venue that can welcome more than 60,000 supporters. That will be in the region of 11,000 more than PSG can fit into their ground if they choose to remain in the same place.
As a result, the club has decided that it might be time to move on. The President of Paris Saint-Germain, Nasser Al-Khelaifi, said, “All the other European clubs have constructed bigger, more modern stadiums. We are behind everyone”. That is a pretty clear indication that the club will need to either renovate the Parc des Princes or else move somewhere else.
Al-Khelaifi made clear that they didn’t have much choice on that front, saying, “It is the city that has already decided that for us. They won’t let PSG buy the Parc des Princes, which is rented”. There is obviously not much appetite to pay to redevelop a stadium that the club don’t own.
Looking at Potential Locations
The need to move if Paris Saint-Germain want a bigger stadium is clear, but where exactly they will move to is less obvious. The club has decided to look at three different locations during the early stages of discussions, with the closest of the three being a mere three miles from the current location.
The Saint Cloud Racecourse is that site, but the major issues that crops up immediately is that fan management would be difficult in the location. There are issues with parking, whilst the safety of supporters is also a concern in the area. Another possibility would be the Montigny-le-Bretonneux, on the South of Paris.
Nasser Al-Khelaïfi on leaving the Parc des Princes and building a new stadium:
“The city hall leaves us with no choice. I really like the Parc, everyone does. If I listen to my heart, we’re not leaving, but every club in Europe has stadiums with 80,000 or 90,000 capacity… pic.twitter.com/60fxx2ZmWH
— PSG Report (@PSG_Report) November 21, 2024
The problem there is that it is 15 miles away from the Parc des Princes, meaning that it would be quite a large change for supporters geographically. The local Mayor has given the club until the end of 2024 to make a decision, saying, “The discussions are on standby”.
Poissy is another place that is being looked at, but it is the furthest away of all three sites. It is found in the Western part of the French capital, which you would think would rule it out immediately on account of the fact that it is 18 miles from the club’s current home ground. The appeal, though, is that it is less than three miles from PSG’s training ground.
A Rock & a Hard Place
The trouble for Paris Saint-Germain is that the club considers itself to be a European superpower. Although there has been no Champions League taken back to the Parc des Princes in recent years, the club is considered to be the favourite for the French title every time a season gets underway.
The fact that Les Parisiens are owned by Qatar Sports Investments has been a big help on that front, with the nation state using the side for sports-washing purposes and pouring money into the team. There is, therefore, no reason why they couldn’t also spend huge sums building a new ground for the club and winning over locals that way.
@arisamayoa09 PSG are leaving their stadium Parc Des Princes 🚨🏟️❌‼️‼️ #greenscreen #alkhelaifi #psg #parissaintgermain #parcdesprinces #parcdesprinces🔵🔴 #arisamayoa09 #soccer #futbol #soccernews
Manchester City, who are also a sports-washing project for a nation state, got the locals on board by developing the area around the City of Manchester Stadium, which is something that PSG might look to replicate. The problem that the owners are faced with is that the options that they currently have available to them are not ideal.
None of them are perfect examples of a place in Paris that the club would like to relocate to, meaning that they might end up having to settle for something less than ideal. In a perfect world, the council would relent and allow them to buy the Parc des Princes, but failing that it will be a matter of taking what they can.