Former Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) owner Sébastien Bazin has stated in an interview with Paris newspaper Le Parisien that all options are open with regards to the future of Parc des Princes, including demolition of the stadium.
Bazin owned PSG through his investment firm Colony Capital until he sold the club to the Qatari Sports Investments (QSI) last year. He is however still closely involved with the making of any future plans for the stadium.
Bazin stated that the interested parties have an agreement to study all possibilities for the future of the Parc des Princes site that match the ambitions of the Qataris. These include an extensive renovation of the current stadium while maintaining its current capacity, or the demolition of the stadium and construction of a new one with a capacity of 60,000 seats.
The stadium was earlier planned to get a renovation for the Euro 2016 tournament, however the new owners of the club may feel a larger stadium may match their ambitions better, which is technically impossible in the current setting.
A move to the Stade de France has also been mentioned, however this would prove to be very unpopular with the fans, and Bazin refuses to consider this option as realistic. But he also acknowledged that he has not been given any guarantees by QSI when they took over the club.
Parc des Princes opened in 1972 and was back then considered to be one of the most modern stadiums of the time. The stadium, with a capacity of 48,527 seats, has hosted various European Cup finals, the final of the 1984 European Championships, and various matches during the 1998 World Cup.
Photo interior Parc des Princes: © Flickr user Jérémy Couture.
Photo exterior Parc des Princes: © Flickr user Otama.