adminTHE war of words between the City of Paris and Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) over the future of Parc des Princes stadium has escalated further after mayor Anne Hidalgo said she will not consider selling the venue to the Ligue 1 football club.
Parc des Princes is owned by the City Council of Paris and while PSG is believed to have held positive discussions over the past four years with the Council to buy the stadium, and subsequently invest in its expansion, it has been growing frustrated at the lack of movement on the project.
The matter has returned to the agenda after Hidalgo stated her stance on Saturday. She told Le Parisien: “Very clearly, the Parc des Princes is not for sale. And it will not be sold. This is a firm and definitive position. This is an exceptional heritage of Parisians.”
In November, PSG was said to be considering leaving its long-time home, with a move to Stade de France one of the options on the table. PSG has played at Parc des Princes since 1974, but is currently limited by its 48,000 capacity, with the club having registered its 100th consecutive sellout for the 4-3 Ligue 1 win over Troyes on October 29.
PSG has spent €85m ($92m) in renovation work on Parc des Princes in recent years, and has a further committed €500m to improve and expand the stadium, increasing capacity from 48,000 to in excess of 60,000. However, PSG will only commit this additional funding if it owns the stadium.
Later in November, PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi upped the ante in the matter by telling Spanish newspaper Marca that the City’s demands to sell Parc des Princes are acting to push the Ligue 1 football club out of its home.
In response Emmanuel Grégoire, first deputy to Hidalgo, dismissively compared PSG’s offers for Parc des Princes to the transfer fee the club paid in 2019, reported to be €47m, to acquire Argentinian midfielder Leandro Paredes.
Hidalgo’s latest comments mark the first time the City has definitely rejected the idea of selling Parc des Princes. In response, PSG said: “Everyone loses in the position taken by the mayor.
“Paris Saint-Germain are now forced to find alternative options to relocate the club, depriving Paris of a major investment for its attractiveness. This is not the outcome the club, or its supporters, were hoping for.
“PSG has already invested more than €85m to maintain Parc des Princes, and has undertaken to invest an additional €500m. Our project is to offer fans, and all Parisians, a high-performance stadium to allow PSG to develop and play at the highest level.
“It is obvious that such a large investment will only be made by PSG if we become owners of Parc des Princes.
“By definitively closing the takeover discussions that began a very long time ago and by refusing our very significant investment to renovate the Parc, the mayor is forcing PSG to leave its home and imposing a tax burden of several million euros on Parisian taxpayers.”
Hidalgo has said the city would prefer to discuss a potential renegotiation of PSG’s lease deal. The current 30-year agreement commenced in 2014. Hidalgo added “that it is of course necessary to support PSG in its desire and its need for renovation, increase in capacity, modernisation of the Parc”. – Sports Business
Mathew Masinge
Online Reporter