Stade du Hameau
Le Hameau | |
 | |
 | |
| Full name | Stade du Hameau |
|---|---|
| Former names | Stade Olympique du Hameau |
| Location | Pau, France |
| Coordinates | 43°18′34″N 0°19′1″W / 43.30944°N 0.31694°W |
| Owner | City of Pau, France |
| Capacity | 18,324 |
| Field size | 100 × 78 metres |
| Surface | Grass |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | 1948 |
| Opened | 1948 |
| Renovated | 1988, 2017 |
| Expanded | Ossau Stand (2015) Crédit Agricole North Stand (2017) Teréga East Stand (2017) |
| Construction cost | €15.6m |
| Architect | Julien Camborde |
| Tenants | |
| Section Paloise | |
Stade du Hameau is a rugby union and football stadium in Pau, France, and the home of Section Paloise. With a capacity of 18,324, it is the largest stadium in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department.
Stade du Hameau has been Section's home ground since 1990, although from 1991 to 2018 the club groundshared with the local football club Pau FC. Stade du Hameau underwent several expansions in the 1990s and 2010s, including the addition and or renovation of new Stands, almost returning the stadium to its original capacity of 20,000.
The stadium's record attendance was recorded in 2017, when 18 324 spectators watched the Top 14 clash between Section and Union Bordeaux Bègles.
Future expansion is likely to involve the addition of a new Tribune Ossau, which would raise the capacity to around 20,000[1].
Opening
Stade du Hameau was built as a military stadium in order to accommodate the National Military Physical Training School that had to leave Paris at the beginning of WW2, at the initiative of Colonel de Fornel in 1948.
The inauguration took place after WW2, on 9 October 1949. René Lehmann, head of sports at L'Aurore estimated the stadium's capacity at 100,000 seats, describing the stadium as an "architectural marvel", drawing a parallel with the Stade Olympique Yves-du-Manoir, which was in desperate need of investment at the time.
Papa Gallo Thiam beat the French high jump record held by Georges Damitio that day with 1m99. The athletes Étienne Bally and Étienne Gailly were present, as well as André Mourlon who failed to better his record.
Colonel de Fornel died at the beginning of 1952 and the National Military Physical Training School was transferred to Antibes shortly afterwards.
In 1957, the stadium was renamed the Colonel de Fornel stadium, as an homage to its creator.
Development
In October 2015, François Bayrou, president of the Democratic Movement (MoDem) and mayor of Pau, presented plans for a renovation project with work starting March 2016 for delivery in September 2017. The Auchan Stand, now the new Teréga East Stand, was completely reworked to increase capacity from 2900 to 5500 seats while a completely new stand was built on the Northwest side of the field.[2]
When finished, the stadium increased capacity from 14,000 to nearer 18,500, with the cost of the work estimated at €15m.[3][4][5] In 2020, Bayrou will build the final stand which would complete the enclosure. The structure's new capacity has yet to be revealed.[6]
On 22 February 2019, it hosted a Six Nations Under 20s Championship match between France and Scotland with France winning 42–27[7].
Stadium Name
The stadium has known different names during its history. Inaugurated in 1949 as stade olympique du Hameau, the stadium was renamed Colonel de Fornel Stadium in honour of its creator in 1957.
However, the name Stade du Hameau is the most frequently used.
In 2009, the President of Section Paloise Bernard Pontneau and then-Mayor Martine Lignières-Cassou investigated the possibility to change the stadium's name to Robert-Paparemborde Stadium.
"I have only one wish, that this stadium will live up to the ambitions of the professional club and that its renovation will be completed by the emblematic name of Paparemborde. »
- Martine Lignières-Cassou
References
- ^ "The 45 Best Stadiums From Europe's Lower Divisions". The18. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
- ^ "Stade du Hameau, Pau |" (in French). p. Camborde Architects. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Le Stade du Hameau (Pau) va être rénové" [Stade du Hameau (Pau) to be renovated]. L'Équipe (in French). 27 October 2015. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
- ^ "Stadiums in France | Aquitaine". World Stadiums.com. Archived from the original on 16 October 2016. Retrieved 14 October 2011.
- ^ Super User. "Le Hameau: pour Pau, c'est bien plus qu'un stade!" [Le Hameau: For Pau, it's Much More Than a Stadium!]. La Republique des Pyrenees.fr (in French). Retrieved 30 November 2017.
{{cite web}}:|author=has generic name (help) - ^ Vincent Romain (31 January 2020). "François Bayrou veut faire construire une quatrième tribune au stade du Hameau" [Pau: François Bayrou wants to build a fourth stand at the Hameau stadium]. Sud Ouest (in French).
- ^ "'Women's Six Nations teams can fill stadiums'". BBC Sport. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
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