Stade du Hameau
Le Hameau | |
| File:Tribune Auchan - Stade du Hameau.jpg Teréga East Stand | |
 | |
| 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 (formerly the Stade Olympique du Hameau or Stade Colonel de Fornel) is a multi-use stadium dedicated to rugby and football as well as a sports and leisure complex including this stadium located in Pau, France. It is owned by the city of Pau, and is currently the home of Section Paloise.
The construction of the stadium began in early 1948. It was first renovated in 1988, to accommodate the Pau Section and Pau FC from 1991, and is then completely renovated in 2017, in order to provide Section Paloise with a stadium that would help the club generate more money, and especially to accommodate the faithful public in conditions worthy of the Top 14.
With a capacity of 18,324 seats, before the construction of the last stand, the stadium has been hosting the Section Paloise's home matches since 1991, whenuntil the club had to leave its historic ground Stade de la Croix du Prince it had been calling home since 1910.
Pau FC left this stadium in 2018, having now its own stadium whose name is yet to disclosed. The stadium also hosts other sporting and cultural events, including the Pro D2 2019 final.
Stade du Hameau is the largest stadium in Pyrénées-Atlantiques.
History
Construction
The Joinville Normal Military Gymnastics School was established on July 15, 1852, and had to close its doors in 1939, due to the Second World War. However, former executives resumed their duties in 1941 in civilian and military establishments such as the national college of instructors and athletes in Antibes, the national sports institute in Paris, the national military physical training schools in Pau and Antibes, and the army sports centre in Pau.
In 1941, the city of Pau thus welcomed the Military and Sports Training School (EIMS). The Second World War and the invasion of the Free Zone interrupted its activities, which were resumed at the Liberation of France in 1945 under the name of the National School of Military Physical Training (ENEPM). The mission of this school is to train officers and non-commissioned officers in charge of sports in the Army and Air Force troop corps. Civilian physical education and sports teachers direct and supervise the practice of group and individual sports.
At the end of 1946, Colonel de Fornel took command of the ENEPM and sports activities were greatly encouraged.
Stade Olympique du Hameau
In order to meet the growing needs of the École nationale d'entraînement physique militaire, the construction of a stadium was begun in early 1947. Thus, a large building site was launched and the technical services of the city of Pau provided support.
The inauguration took place on 9 October 1949, this event attracting more than 30,000 people from all over Béarn and the surrounding area to admire the elite of French sport and to watch the parachute jumps and athletics competitions. The athletes Étienne Bally in sprint and Papa Gallo Thiam in high jump broke the French records that day.
In the opinion of all the athletes, the qualities of the track and field and the jumps were exceptional.
Colonel de Fornel died at the beginning of 1952 and shortly afterwards the school was transferred to Antibes.
It is now the 1st parachute fighter regiment (1st RCP) which takes possession of the premises for a period of six years.
FC Pau, resident club from 1960 to 1968
From 1954 onwards, the land was gradually used by the city of Pau in order to accommodate the sports associations of this booming city with the exploitation of the Lacq deposit, within the framework of an agreement signed with the Ministry of Defence1.
Thus, it is towards the end of the 1950s that the associations and clubs from Pau arrived at the Hameau stadium and took up their habits there.
FC Pau, in particular, was the first club to settle there in 1960 and remained there until 1968, when the club moved to the Stade de l'Ousse des Bois.
Rugby at XIII in the 1970s and 1980s
In 1972, rugby returned to Pau with the accession of AS Pau Béarn to the National Division. The club played at Le Hameau, alternating with the Stade François-Récaborde, and in November 1972, as part of the World Cup organised in France, the match between Great Britain and New Zealand was played in front of 8,000 spectators.
In 1980, the stadium was officially christened "Stade colonel de Fornel" and development work was carried out from the 1970s until the mid-1980s, with the construction of a caretaker's lodge, new stands and the laying out of the playing field.
The stadium was definitively handed over to the city of Pau in 1983.
Home of Section Paloise.
The city's rugby club, the Section Paloise, left its legendary Prince's Cross stadium (Stade de la Croix du Prince) for the Hameau in August 1990.
The Section Paloise had called Stade de la Croix du Prince home since 1910, and some of the most beautiful chapters of the club's history were written in that ground. The move to the Hameau was a heartbreak for many fans.
The first match took place on 18 August 1990, against Bègles-Bordeaux in the Du Manoir challenge, and the greens and whites lost 0-12 on that day.
Its maximum capacity, had long been difficult to assess due to the large number of standing places behind the posts, was estimated before the renovation in 2017 at around 13,000 spectators (various sources range between 13,000 and 14,500 spectators for the most optimistic). Thus, one of the highest attendance figures was established on 22 January 1994 at the ASSE reception for a French Cup match, with just over 13,000 spectators. A similar attendance occurred on 11 May 2013 during the semi-final for the Top 14, which saw the Pro D2 teams from the Paloise Section and the Stade Rochelais play against each other.
During the 2014-2015 season, the stadium will be equipped with an additional temporary stand with a capacity of around 400 seats, adjacent to the Auchan stand. This stand was removed at the end of the season and work has begun to erect a temporary stand with a capacity of 2,996 seats behind the east posts. This grandstand consists of a 1,212-seat covered central grandstand and two uncovered side grandstands. A controversy flared up when subscribers noticed that the security barriers blocked much of the view. The aim of the new facilities is to increase the stadium's capacity to 18,426 seats, including 17,000 seats.
Fans regularly sing traditional bearnese songs such as the Honhada and the Immortelle.
On its return to the national team, Pau FC plays at the Hameau stadium, which will be completely renovated during the 2017 season.
A modern 18,000-seat stadium
The cost of the renovation is 15.6 million euros, and the architect is Palois Julien Camborde. The building site lasted eighteen months, and mobilized many construction companies, with up to 80 workers at the height of the work. The stadium's capacity was increased to 18,852 seats, including 3,000 temporary seats and 1,500 VIP boxes.
The Hamlet Stadium now forms a "U" and should eventually be equipped with an additional stand to close the enclosure and form an oval.
"If the Section has a good season, I will add the last side".
- François Bayrou, Mayor of Pau
The new locker rooms have 28 individual spaces and offer a 60 m² warm-up area217 . Visitors to the Hamlet now have access to a vast 87 m2 cloakroom with a treatment area equipped with three massage tables. In a nod to history, the "new" Hameau stadium, with its 18,324 seats, was inaugurated on the occasion of the match between the Paloise Section and Union Bordeaux-Bègles, which was the club's first opponent at this venue.
The last match of Pau FC in this stadium was played against Red Star Football Club on 10 May 2018. Pau Football Club will leave the stadium in 2018 to take possession of the Nouste Camp.
Architectural features
Architecture and characteristics of the stadium
The outside of the stadium is now clad in translucent white to give it architectural unity and allow light to pass through11.
The Béarnaise enclosure will be closed on three sides forming a U-shaped enclosure. The idea was to preserve the soul of the Hamlet by keeping the historic East & Honour stands, to form a U and to create new receptive spaces (Bodega, refreshment stands, dressing rooms,...)10,12.
Initially estimated at 12 million euros, the renovation will have cost 15.6 million euros before tax, including 2 million for the city of Pau, 8.1 million euros for the Pau urban community, 2.5 million for the region and 3 million for the department4.
The main stages of the stadium renovation
The building permit was filed in October 2015. Work began in March 2016 and was completed in November 2017. The work was divided into 3 phases:
- phase 1: construction of additional grandstand seats is lower; delivery in August 2017 ;
- phase 2: construction of the north stand in place of the current Butte; delivery in July 2017;
- phase 3: raising the tribune
Famous meetings
Rugby in XIII
In November 1972 Great Britain beat New Zealand 43-13 in the World Cup in front of 8,000 spectators.
At that time the stadium, still a military stadium, had only one main stand, supplemented by removable bleachers.
Since its refurbishment in 1988, prestigious teams have played at the Hamlet Stadium.
Football
In football, these include AS Saint-Etienne, Nimes Olympique, AS Cannes (then coached by Luis Fernandez) and Paris Saint-Germain (in 1998, in the Round of 16 of the French Cup).
During Pau FC's run to the French Cup 2019-2020, the club played its 2 home matches against Ligue 1 teams, Girondins de Bordeaux and PSG, beating the attendance record in football configuration with 16700 people.
The France Espoirs team also played in Pau, in a friendly match against Switzerland on 12 March 1997. Among the young French players present that day were Patrick Vieira, Thierry Henry and David Trezeguet.
On 18 May 2006, the young tricolour team played again at the Hameau stadium, this time against Croatia. The team included Steve Mandanda, Bakari Sagna and Yoann Gourcuff.
Michel Platini also took to the pitch at Le Hameau on the occasion of Dominique Vésir's jubilee in 1988.
Pau Football Club also played their home games there until 2018. Since the 2018-2019 season, it has been playing in a new stadium dedicated to football and located a few hundred metres from the Hameau stadium.
Rugby at XV
In rugby, the Paloise Section is a historic club in French rugby with regular participations at the top of the division pyramid, including the Top 16 and then the Top 14. The best French teams therefore travel regularly to the Hameau.
In 2014, in front of 8,500 spectators, the French women's rugby team won the Grand Slam by beating Ireland in the last match of the Six Nations Tournament23.
European Rugby XV Cup :
Date Stadium Team Score
9 November 1998 Stade du Hameau, Pau Section paloise 35-18 Leicester Tigers
Environment
Nearby facilities
The Hameaut's sports complex is located in the immediate vicinity of the stadium. In addition, the new football stadium of Pau was built in 2018 not far from this stadium.
Gallery
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Aerial view in 1950
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Main Stand in 1997 -
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Events
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. When finished, the stadium increased capacity from 14,000 to nearer 18,500, with the cost of the work estimated at €15m.[1][2][3] In 2020, Bayrou will build the final stand which would complete the enclosure. The structure's new capacity has yet to be revealed.[4]
On 22 February 2019, it hosted a Six Nations Under 20s Championship match between France and Scotland with France winning 42–27.
References
- ^ "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).
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