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- PSG offered to buy Parc des Princes but city’s council asking fee considered too high
- Club’s options also include building on two sites near current home
- PSG keen to improve stadium revenue to meet Uefa FFP regulations
French soccer giants Paris Saint-Germain are considering leaving the Parc des Princes in favour of a possible move to the Stade de France.
The Ligue 1 club currently play their home games at the 48,000-seater venue, which has been PSG’s home since 1974. In 2016 the venue underwent significant renovation work that facilitated an increase in the club’s stadium-generated revenue to €100 million (US$104.2 million).
However, PSG have long held ambitions to play in a 60,000-seater venue. According to CBS, PSG want to conduct a further €500 million (US$521.03 million) expansion of Parc des Princes to add 12,000 seats to the capacity.
Yet the reigning French soccer champions are reluctant to initiate any plans until gaining full ownership of the stadium. PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi told Bloomberg that the club have made an offer to buy the stadium, but that the venue’s owner, the Paris City Council, is demanding too high a price.
The CBS report adds that the local authority has set the asking price at four times above market rate, despite PSG having already had the site priced using the council’s property evaluator. As a result, the club are exploring the possibility of leaving their current home.
“Paris deserves a better stadium. My first option is we don’t move. But the city of Paris is pushing us to move,” Al-Khelaifi told Bloomberg.
The PSG president added that he has three options, and though he did not elaborate further, one possibility is said to be buying the Stade de France. The French government, which owns the stadium through the Consortium Stade de France, is reportedly looking for a buyer for the 80,000-seater venue.
CBS adds that the French government is encouraging the club to make an offer for the stadium and the proposition is getting serious consideration. The venue is currently used by both the French national soccer and rugby teams respectively, while also recently hosting the 2022 Uefa Champions League final.
The other options available to PSG both involve building a new stadium, with two sites close to its current home currently available to acquire.
Al-Khelaifi added that the need to improve the scope of PSG’s home stadium is guided partially by Uefa regulations which limit clubs from spending more than their income.
Earlier this year the club was fined €10 million (US$10.4 million) by European soccer’s governing body for breaching financial fair play (FFP) rules. That fine could rise up to €65 million (US$67.6 million) if PSG fail to meet targets set by Uefa in three years time.
