The Stade de la Meinau football stadium in Strasbourg, France, is undergoing a renovation to increase its seating capacity from 26,282 to 32,000.
The stadium is the home ground of the Ligue 1 club Racing Club de Strasbourg Alsace and has been hosting games since 1906, making it one of the oldest stadiums in France.
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The €100m ($119m) renovation project, undertaken by the Strasbourg municipality, will modernise the existing stadium to meet the requirements for hosting major sporting events in the 21st century, including the French Ligue 1 championship, UEFA Champion’s League and several other international games.
The restructuring and extension of the Meinau stadium will begin in May 2022, with completion scheduled in July 2025.
Meinau stadium renovation details
The Meinau football stadium renovation work will involve restructuring the stands to accommodate new and removable seating tiers, which will lower the front row seating, bringing it closer to the pitch.
The stadium’s South stand will be expanded to create new fan spaces and operational facilities around an atrium. The five-storey, glass-fronted atrium will have new bars and hospitality lounges, along with two open spaces called party decks overlooking the pitch.
The East, West and North stands will be restructured to incorporate new bars and food and drink outlets. The West stand, also called The Kop, will remain a standing terrace.
A fan zone will be created outside the stadium to improve the fan experience.
Sustainable features of the Meinau stadium renovation
The restructuring and extension of the Meinau stadium adopts environmentally sustainable design features while minimising the demolition work required for restoration.
The project will reduce the overall carbon footprint of the stadium and focus on conserving and retaining the local ecology.
Materials from the demolition waste will be used for the renovation. Further, 4,400m² of decommissioned Airbus A340 fuselage will be reused for the stadium’s main south façade sunshade.
The proposed sustainable design features for the project also include the installation of 1,000m² of photovoltaic panels on the South stand roof, as well as site connection to a biomass-powered heat network.
The stadium will incorporate rainwater recycling facilities, passive ice water production facilities, and long-lasting LED lights upon project completion. It will also implement an efficient recycling logistics strategy based on a detailed operations capabilities study.
Construction timeline
Construction of a building behind the South stand will be undertaken from June 2022 to May 2023. The new building will be connected to the existing South stand by December 2023.
Work at the West stand and the fan zone will be undertaken from January to July 2024. The North stand renovation work will be performed from July 2024 to December 2024 and the East stand works from January 2025 to June 2025.
Financing
The renovation and extension project is funded by the Strasbourg Eurometropolis with €50m ($59.9m), the Grand Est region with €25m ($29.9m), the City of Strasbourg with €12.5m ($14.9m) and the Department of Bas-Rhin with €12.5m (($14.9m).
Contractors involved
Architectural design firm Populous was selected as the project lead and lead architect for the Meinau renovation project. It collaborated with local architect Rey De Crecy for the designs.
OTE ingénierie was awarded the engineering services contract while C2Bi will act as the quantity surveyor providing site scheduling and management services.
Otelio will provide sustainable development services while Maffeis Engineering will serve as the façade consultant.
Vanguardia will undertake acoustics services while ME Engineers will supply and install sports lighting. Security and safety services will be provided by Cronos Conseil.
