A stadium fit for the Stade

By: Shazback | September 14th, 2007

Whist Lyon are gloating at their soon-to-be replica of the Amsterdam ArenA, Liverpool are getting plans ready for Stanley Park, Everton ask their fans if they should get a new stadium, and countless other clubs move into new stadia or plan their move, Rennes is getting ready to stick to the Stade de la Route de Lorient for the 95th year of the club’s history.

Created in 1901, the Stade Rennais (then called “Stade Rennais Université Club“) were just a bunch of students to start out, and played on quite a few pitches close to the old university’s grounds. They had settled in what can only be called a meadow by 1910, called La Meineau. Without any lines to mark the limits of the field and makeshift goals, Rennes still managed to attract 5,000 people against their first and oldest rival : the US Saint-Servannaise.

Mr. Foillard, president of Rennes in 1912 decided with the mayor of Rennes, Mr. Richier, to build a stadium to house his then-blossoming club that had just administratively left the university. Thus was born the Parc des Sports de la Route de Lorient. Partly covered, due to Brittany’s frequent rain, the stadium had proper goals, and the pitch limits were no longer set out by the referee prior to the game by means of a white ribbon. The 6,000-capacity stadium was inaugurated the 15th of September 1912 by a game between two of the eminent football clubs of Rennes at the time : Stade Rennais against their “little brothers” from the Séction Athlétique du Lycée de Rennes (High-school athletics section). In a 6-1 win, Verlet lead his men to victory, being the first captain to play in the stadium, whilst Brizard was the first player to score.

The stadium remained in that configuration until 1935, when after a French Cup final that was lost 3-0 to Marseille, the board showed faith in the club’s fortunes and increased the stadium’s capacity to 12,000 in a 1,5 Million Franc move. A second covered stand was created, on the North side, the Southern stand was almost completely re-built. Changing rooms were also introduced, causing great pleasure to the players, I’m sure. Who would think that a team that played two French Cup finals, as well as being knocked out once in the semi-finals and five times in the quarter-finals didn’t even have changing rooms?

British and German people that read this will probably expect the stadium to suffer great damage during the Second World War. Well, there was none. France’s quick defeat and Brittany’s lack of notable industry meant that Rennes wasn’t seen as a target to Germans or British military services. However, the stadium was used by American troops following Operation Overlord as a military reserve base. The stadium suffered no damage from World War 2, just as it had lived through World War 1.

The 50s, however, followed the trend of optimism that the club had inspired in the 30s, and between 1954 and 1957 the stadium underwent two sets of work, leading to a concrete stand in place of the old wooden Southern stand, roofing for the East and West terraces, and an overall increase in capacity to 20,000. The end of the works are marked in 1957 when the stadium is renamed “Stade” de la Route de Lorient, to celebrate it’s 45th birthday. The pitch is still the same though, and as such, it is the same location as the Parc des Sports.

Rennes’ on-pitch fortunes however didn’t match the relative glory, as the 1950s saw the Stade Rennais spend the same amount of time in Division 2 as in Division 1, and even though the club became a mid-table Division 1 side in the 60s and 70s, relegation was never far, and the best (French Cup wins in 65 and 71) were close to the less glorious (Relegated from Division 1 in 58 and 75). In May 1972, one season after the last major trophy win Rennes have had, the direction decided to make a minor change to the club’s name, by dropping the “Université” that had clung on even though none of the players went there (and I doubt the all even knew there was a university), and replacing it with “Football” to give the Stade Rennais Football Club.

In 1996, the Stade de la Route de Lorient was chosen to be one of the ten host stadia to the 1998 World Cup, on condition that the stadium was expanded to 35,000 full-seated capacity, and filled the criteria for UEFA 4-star stadia. However, the mayor of Rennes refused to engage public funding in the works, and the host place was changed to be given to the Stade de la Meineau, in Montpellier.

However, in 1998 French billionaire François Pinault bought the club, then in financial troubles, and thanks to his deep pockets and aura managed to “convince” the town’s administration that the Stade de la Route de Lorient was in need of a bit of loving, especially since sporting affluence was on the up after France’s historic World Cup win. The 5-year building schedule was finished only a few weeks late, and Rennes started the 2004-2005 season in a 31,127 all-seater, state-of the art stadium. The soil isn’t heated, since Ligue 1 has a winter break and Brittany also rarely suffers from heavy snowfalls. The stadium isn’t covered, but that was a choice made by the club in agreement with the city council, on the basis that a roof would increase the cost by an incredible amount, limit future work, and probably worsen the state of the playing field due to lack of sunlight. I also feel that Pinault might have encouraged Rennes to stick with the open-roof plans because teams from the south of France are often beaten in “freak” wins when the temperature gets a little too cold for them or when rain makes the pitch slippery.

The first game to be played in the current configuration of the Stade de la Route de Lorient was France’s game against Bosnia-Herzegovina, that Domenech made sure didn’t leave too many good memories thanks to a 1-1 draw. Rennes’ début in the stadium’s new configuration was played on the 21st of August 2004, where a Jeunechamp-led team beat Brittany rivals Nantes 1-0 thanks to a sole goal by Frei.

Rennes’ official website has re-built the stadium in full 3D glory for all those that would like to visit the Stade de la Route de Lorient, but can’t manage to get there… Yet! : Clicky!

Stade Rennais and the Stade de la Route de Lorient are currently the second-oldest club-stadium tandem in Ligue 1, only bettered by Auxerre, who have been at the Stade de l’Abbé Deschamps since 1905.