The President of Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), Nasser Al-Khelaifi, revealed that his club will move from the Parc des Princes. The Parc des Princes Stadium, which is owned by the Paris City Council, has been PSG’s headquarters since 1974 or four years after the club nicknamed Les Parisiens was founded.
“It’s too easy to say now that the stadium is not for sale. We know what we want,” said Al-Khelaifi on the sidelines of the UEFA congress in Paris, Thursday (8/2/2024). “We’ve wasted years trying to buy it. Now, it’s easier for us, we know what we want. It’s over. We want to move from the Parc des Princes,” he said.
Reporting from a different source, RMC Sports, the Paris City Council chaired by Mayor Anne Hidalgo emphasized that the Parc des Princes Stadium is the city’s heritage. The Paris City Council, which is filled with elected officials from socialist circles and environmentalists, has requested that the stadium be modernized, but does not involve a transaction process.
“From the start, we wanted PSG to remain at the Parc des Princes, but we did not want to give up the heritage of the City of Paris,” said Deputy Mayor of Paris for Sports, Pierre Rabadan. “A sale is not desirable, because that would be a decision with no turning back… That’s why we have to rule out the sale of the Parc today. We don’t want to sell off Paris’ legacy,” he added.
PSG has said that their first option is to remain at the Parc des Princes with the aim of expanding the stadium’s capacity from 48,000 to 60,000. The Athletic reported that PSG extended its contract with the Paris City Council in 2013 to use the Parc des Princes for another 30 years until 2043. In November 2023, PSG then invested around 75 million euros for renovations ahead Euro 2016.
PSG said they would now explore alternative locations for a new headquarters and halt any further construction at the Parc des Princes. Last month, PSG withdrew its application to buy the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, north of Paris. PSG feels that logistically, financially and culturally, the stadium is not suitable for PSG, which is currently based in the west of Paris.
