Stade Geoffroy-Guichard

As many modern football grounds are these days, Stade Geoffroy-Guichard is a multi-purpose facility, although its primary use remains hosting football matches.

Despite first opening almost 100 years ago, the stadium has an incredibly modern feel to it due to undergoing renovations fairly frequently since the 1930s and most recently ahead of the 2016 Euros held in France.

Its design, a hybrid between a more traditional stadium and the contemporary bowl design we see so often in the modern era, provides Stade Geoffroy-Guichard with a steep aesthetic both from outside and inside the site.

The North Stand, commonly referred to as either the Charles Paret Stand or the Kop Nord, sits behind one of the goals and is used to house the club’s most passionate fans. Three more stands complete the stadium, named the Jean Sheila, Pierre Faurand and Henri Point stand respectively.

It has evolved enormously since officially opening in 1931 when it hosted a match between Saint-Etienne and FAC Nice on September 17, and the fact the club have been able to mould the ground into an extraordinarily modern and unique facility is deserving of massive praise.

Thanks to their hard work and organised planning, the ground has also been selected as one of the seven hosts of football at the upcoming 2024 Paris Olympics, an event which will see a total of six matches played at the stadium.

If you are a prospective visitor of Stade Geoffroy-Guichard, you will be glad to learn that for the most part, the ground is well-known for being extremely welcoming to away fans.

There is very rarely any trouble among supporters at the ground, and the local police are well-versed in handling travelling fans and treat them fairly and with respect.

That, combined with the fact that the city itself is widely considered to be a very safe area, and Stade Geoffroy-Guichard makes for an excellent away day most of the time.

If you do visit the facility, it is worth noting that away supporters are generally housed in the corner located between the North and East stands of the ground.

This is another tick for away day fans as there really are an array of different pubs and bars for you to choose from on matchday for those pre-game beers.

Ninkasi Saint-Etienne is an excellent choice and serves a wide variety of lagers and ales that should cater for your every need. Located just half a mile from Stade Geoffroy-Guichard, this establishment would require just a 1o minute walk to get to the ground.

If that doesn’t appeal to you, then the Six Nations pub located in the city provides a certain homely feel and may be just what you are looking for. Serving traditional beers with an outdoor garden, it really is a stereotypical British bar.  It is located a little further away and requires a 32-minute walk to the stadium, but it certainly is a very good option nevertheless.

Renovations ahead of the 2016 European Championships saw Stade Geoffroy-Guichard become a truly modern venue for football and was the last time any major improvements were made to the facility.

These developments began in 2011 and resulted in all four stands not only being enclosed under a sleek roof but also being expanded and providing the site with its current capacity of 41,965 we have become accustomed to today.

A panoramic restaurant as well as VIP areas were also installed at the same time.

Since then, renovations have been minor and few and far between, although the entire stadium did undergo a sound and lights revamp in 2023 thanks to the International Society for Optics and Photonics.

This development saw 252 LED floodlights installed, a state-of-the-art lighting management system created and the installation of 29 amplifiers and 148 speakers to ensure all technology in the stadium is of the highest quality.

Ever since it was built, the ground has always been named after Geoffroy Guichard, a local businessman who owned multiple casinos in the city, as well as the land the stadium was and still is built on today.

It had fairly modest beginnings and was originally comprised of a 400-metre running track around the outer edge of the pitch and a 1,000-seater grandstand that gave Stade Geoffroy-Guichard a capacity believed to be approximately 1,800.

The first game ever hosted on its pitch came against FAC Nice, on September 17 1931, and saw Les Verts secure their first victory in their new home. Five years later in 1936, the club developed a second stand in the facility – a structure that became known as the Henri Point and the site’s capacity rose to a staggering 15,000.

Stade Geoffroy-Guichard evolved quickly and by 1957, the running track had been removed and its new capacity stood at around  30,000 – doubling its size in just over 20 years.

1968 was another big year for the stadium with plenty of renovations occurring after the city purchased the ground. The embankments behind either goal were removed and the main grandstand was rebuilt to keep in touch with modern designs of the time.

However, 1996 was, and possibly still is, the year that saw the most drastic improvement of the stadium to date. Ahead of Euro 98′, numerous renovations took place which saw multiple facilities improved, including: the changing rooms, disabled access, floodlights, an increase to capacity and the pitch being re-laid.

The next major renovations were then the developments made ahead of Euro 2016, outlined above.

During its life, Stade Geoffroy-Guichard has hosted matches at multiple European Championships and even the 1984 World Cup. It is truly an iconic stadium that should be on everyone’s bucket list.

The capacity at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard is 40,700.

The Olympics 2024 football will be held in France between 24th July and 10th August 2024.

There are seven venues in seven host cities which are as follows:

Paris
Bordeaux
Lyon
Nice
Nantes
Marseilles
St Étienne

504 competitors from 23 different nations will take part in the Olympics 2024 football, with 16 men’s teams from six confederations, and 12 women’s teams from six federations competing against each other for those highly coveted medals.

In the men’s category, the Gold medal match will be held in Paris, at the Parc des Princes on August 9th, while the Bronze medal match will be held on August 8th in Nantes.

In the women’s category, the Gold Medal match will take place in Paris, at the Parc des Princes on August 10th, while the Bronze medal match will be held on August 9th in Lyon.

The Stade Geoffroy-Guichard will host six football matches at the 2024 Paris Olympics. They are:

• 24th July – Argentina vs Morocco (Men)
• 25th July – Canada vs New Zealand (Women)
• 27th July – Ukraine vs Morocco (Men)
• 28th July – France vs Canada (Women)
• 30th July – USA vs Guinea (Men)
• 31st July – Zambia vs Germany (Women)

Given the United Kingdom’s proximity to France, travelling to Stade Geoffroy-Guichard may just be a little easier than you may think.

Travel by plane

Perhaps the most convenient method will be to catch a direct flight to Lyon, the closest airport to the ground. This region of France is a fairly popular tourist destination and as such, finding an available flight shouldn’t be difficult.

From the airport, Stade Geoffroy-Guichard is an approximate one-hour drive away, or just over 2 hours if using public transport.

Travel by train

However, given that France is just a short train ride away from England via the Eurostar, you may opt to swap the skies for the tracks.

In this case, you will need to make your way to London. From there, Saint-Etienne is just three trains away from London St.Pancras station – albeit this journey will take around seven hours to complete.

The first of your two changes will occur in Paris, while the second will see you change once more in Lyon. Your third and final train will see you arrive at St-Étienne Châteaucreux, from which Stade Geoffroy-Guichard is a 32-minute walk away.

Travel by Car

Thanks to the Euro Tunnel and the numerous ferries that run between the UK and France every day, driving is also a perfectly viable option.

Regardless of your starting point, you will want to head towards Kent, with most people using either the M1, M5 or the M20 to get there, Once in Kent, aim for the Channel Tunnel car departure road.

This will see you enter France, and a substantial portion of the journey is now done. Taking the Channel Tunnel will see you arrive in Calais, and from there, an eight-hour drive will see you arrive at the ground.

Car parking

Like many modern grounds, Stade Geoffroy-Guichard does have its own parking facility, however, this is often used by journalists and other VIPs so spaces are hard to come by.

Thankfully, there are two public parking structures located near the stadium. They are:

• Zenpark (0.3 miles away from the stadium)
• Boulevard Roger Rocher Parking (0.1 miles away from the stadium)

Both of these are excellent choices, but bear in mind that they will be busier than usual on matchday so allow for extra time upon arrival.

Given the extremely loyal and dedicated fanbase Saint-Etienne possess, securing tickets through their official club website can be difficult depending on which game you wish to attend.

However, prices are reasonable and often range between €20 and €50 for a single adult matchday ticket at Stade Geoffroy-Guichard.

Saint-Etienne shares a fierce rivalry with two other clubs in France, both of which play their football in Ligue 1.

The first of the two is Lyon, which, given how close the two cities are located to each other, a mere hour’s drive, is unsurprising.

Then there is Les Verts’ rivalry with OGC Nice. Unlike Lyon, Nice is not located particularly close to Saint-Etienne – a four-hour drive is needed to travel between the two, but the rivalry has existed ever since their first match in 1948 nevertheless.

There are an array of facilities and services available at the ground to accommodate disabled supporters at Stade Geoffroy-Guichard. These include:

• Reserved car parking spaces for disabled fans located in car park P8
• Dedicated accessible seating areas in both the Pierre Faurand Grandstand and the lower blocks of the Henri Point Grandstand
• Accessible toilets located near the above locations in the ground
• Adapted stadium tours to accommodate supporters with physical, visual or audio impairments.

During the 2023/24 campaign, Saint-Etienne recorded the highest average attendance of all teams in the league with a respectable figure of 24, 608. Given the immense size of Stade Geoffroy-Guichard compared to most other stadiums in the division, this should come as no surprise.

The record attendance, on the other hand, was achieved in 1985 and saw the Les Verts attract a crowd of approximately 47,000 people to the ground. Nowadays, the capacity is limited to 41,965 due to health and safety regulations.

Official club website:

• https://billetterie.asse.fr/fr/

If you are hoping to reserve a stadium tour at Stade Geoffroy-Guichard then you are in luck, as Saint-Etienne offers two tours of the ground, which include a visit to the club’s official museum.

The two are very similar in price and offer very similar perks, so don’t worry too much about which one you pick. They are priced as follows:

• Guided tour of Green Museum and stadium – €20
• Audio-guided tour of Green Museum and guided tour of stadium – €15

These tours are fairly easy to book and can be accessed via the club’s official website.