Strasbourg begin work to increase stadium capacity | OneFootball

RC Strasbourg Alsace this week officially began refurbishment work on the Stade de la Meinau. The work will take almost three years to complete and will see capacity increase to 32,000.

Club president Marc Keller oversaw a ceremony on Thursday at which the foundation stone was laid and which was attended by dignitaries including France’s Minister for Energy Transition, Agnès Pannier-Runacher.

According to Pia Imbs, the president of the Eurométropole of Strasbourg, the refurbished stadium will notably feature 900 m2 of photovoltaic panels on the roofing of the South Stand extension. Meanwhile the façade will be made of parts of the fuselage of 30 airbus A340 aeroplanes.

Strasbourg said the refurbishment work will cost a total of €160 million, of which the club itself is paying only just over nine million. The bulk of the funding is coming from the Eurométropole, the wider Grand-Est region, Strasbourg City Hall and the European Community of Alsace. However, the club is also paying €14 million towards other related construction costs.

When completed, the Stade de la Meinau’s capacity will increase to 32,000 from its current 26,000.

*Photograph courtesy of rcstrasbourgalsace.fr

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