Grand Stade Lille Métropole

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Key facts

Club: Lille OSC | Opening: 2012 | Capacity: 50,000 seats

History and description

Grand Stade Lille Métropole was built to provide Lille OSC with a new and modern home.

Lille’s traditional home was Stade Grimonprez-Jooris, where they played until 2004 when they moved away to Stade Lille-Métropole in the hope of redeveloping Stade Grimonprez-Jooris. Plans led to nothing though, and the club instead focused on building a new stadium at a site close to Stade Lille-Métropole.

Plans for the new Grand Stade Lille Métropole were approved in 2008 and construction began in 2010. Construction came at a cost of approximately €300 million.

Grand Stade Lille Métropole officially opened on the 17th of August 2012 with a league match between Lille and Nancy (1-1).

The stadium is a multifunctional arena that can be converted from a football and rugby stadium to a large concert venue or smaller indoors sports or concert arena. It is equipped with a retractable roof, which can be opened or closed in about 30 minutes.

Grand Stade Lille Métropole has been selected as one of the playing venues of the Euro 2016 Championships.

Getting there

Grand Stade Lille Métropole is located in the Lille suburb of Villeneuve d’Ascq, about 6 kilometres south-west of Lille’s city centre and main railway station.

The stadium lies adjacent to the N227 motorway, which connects with the A1 and A27 further south and with the A22 in the north. From the N227, take exit 3 Villeneuve d’Ascq.

If using public transport, the stadium is easy to reach by metro. Metro station Cité Scientifique and 4 Cantons Grand Stade both lie a short walk away from the stadium. Both are on metro line 1, which can be boarded in Lille’s city centre and at the main railway station.

An alternative is bus 18, which can be taken from the southern parts of Lille’s centre, e.g. metro stops République Beaux-Arts or Porte de Valenciennes. Take the bus in the direction of Villeneuve d’Ascq. It will pass right by the stadium.

Address: 261 Boulevard de Tournai, 59650 Villeneuve d’Ascq

Eat, drink, and sleep

Grand Stade Lille Métropole lies squeezed in between a motorway, a golf course, and the Le Centre V2 shopping centre. There are a few food outlets in the shopping centre, but apart from that the area is rather quiet.

There are a few budget hotels close to the Grand Stade Lille, which include the Stars Hotel Villeneuve d’Ascq and Premiere Class Lille Est. The Inter Hotel Ascotel is a somewhat better alternative, but is also more expensive.

Click here for all hotels near Grand Stade Lille Métropole, and here to explore the options in Lille’s city centre.

Tickets

Tickets for Lille games can be bought online, by phone +33 (0) 892 68 56 72, at the ticket office at the stadium, at the Lille store (Boutique Lille) at 68 Rue de Béthune in Lille’s city centre, or at any of the Francebillet and Ticketnet sales points.

If tickets remain available, these can be bought at the ticket windows of the stadium on the day of the match. It is not known yet how attendances will develop in the new Grand Stade Lille.

Ticket prices typically range from €20.00 for the corner sections to €109.00 for the best seats at the main stand. Tickets are €5.00 to €10.00 cheaper if bought in pre-sale.

Stadium tours

Grand Stade Lille Métropole is currently working on creating a stadium tour, which it expects to offer from later in 2012.

Photos

Relevant Internet links

Losc.fr – Official website of Lille OSC.
Grandstade-lillemetropole.com – Official website of Grand Stade Lille Métropole.
Lilletourism.com – Website of the Lille tourist office.
Transpole.fr – Lille public transport information.