Stadium de Toulouse is the largest
multi-purpose stadium in
Toulouse
Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and fr ...
, France. It is currently used mostly for
football matches, mainly those of the
Toulouse Football Club, as well as
rugby
Rugby may refer to:
Sport
* Rugby football in many forms:
** Rugby league: 13 players per side
*** Masters Rugby League
*** Mod league
*** Rugby league nines
*** Rugby league sevens
*** Touch (sport)
*** Wheelchair rugby league
** Rugby union: 1 ...
matches for
Stade Toulousain
Stade Toulousain () ( oc, Estadi Tolosenc), also referred to as Toulouse, is a professional rugby union club based in Toulouse, France. They compete in the Top 14, France's top division of rugby, and the European Rugby Champions Cup.
Tou ...
in the
European Rugby Champions Cup or
Top 14
The Top 14 () is a professional rugby union club competition that is played in France. Created in 1892, the Top 14 is at the top of the national league system operated by the French National Rugby League, also known by its French initialism o ...
. It also hosts the test matches of
France's national rugby union team. It is located on the island of Ramier near the centre of Toulouse. It is a pure football and rugby ground, and therefore has no athletics track surrounding the field. The stadium is able to hold 33,150 people.
History
The stadium was built in 1937 for the
1938 FIFA World Cup
The 1938 FIFA World Cup was the third edition of the World Cup, the quadrennial international football championship for senior men's national teams and was held in France from 4 June until 19 June 1938. Italy defended its title in the final, be ...
(but again under construction, the World Cup matches were playing in the
Stade du T.O.E.C., 4 kilometers further North) and has undergone two extensive renovations, in 1949 and 1997.
The stadium staged six matches during the
1998 FIFA World Cup.
It was also used as a host venue during the
2007 Rugby World Cup for games such as Japan-Fiji, won by the latter 35–31. On 13 November 2009 the stadium hosted international rugby again when France hosted South Africa. At the time, South Africa were leading the series by 20 wins to 10 (6 drawn).
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the " King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over ...
performed in front of 40,000 people during his
Dangerous World Tour on 16 September 1992.
Transport
The stadium is served by two bus stops (West and East), where
Tisséo
Tisséo is the brand adopted in 2002 for the transport network of Toulouse, under the authority of the ''Syndicat mixte des transports en commun'' (SMTC).
Tisséo operates two metro lines, two tramway lines, a hundred buses, and shuttle serv ...
buses L4 (Cours Dillon-Basso Cambo), 34 (Arènes-Université Paul Sabatier), L5 (Empalot-Roques/Roquettes) and 152 (Empalot-Roques/IUC) stop. Shuttle buses operate on match days from Esquirol metro (Line A), and the stadium is also a short walk (~10 mins) from metro stations Empalot and Saint Michel-Marcel Langer (Line B). It is also near the Croix de Pierre stop of the newly extended
Toulouse tramway.
Tournament results
1938 FIFA World Cup
The stadium was initially one of the venues of the
1938 FIFA World Cup
The 1938 FIFA World Cup was the third edition of the World Cup, the quadrennial international football championship for senior men's national teams and was held in France from 4 June until 19 June 1938. Italy defended its title in the final, be ...
but again under construction, the matches were played in the
Stade du T.O.E.C. in Toulouse too.
1998 FIFA World Cup
The stadium was one of the venues of the
1998 FIFA World Cup, and held the following matches:
2007 Rugby World Cup
The stadium was one of the venues for
rugby union
Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...
's
2007 World Cup
UEFA Euro 2016
The stadium was one of the venues of
UEFA Euro 2016, and hosted the following matches:
2023 Rugby World Cup matches
Rugby League Test matches
Stadium Municipal has hosted 14
rugby league
Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...
internationals, 13 of them involving the
French national team, since 1953.
Fronton facilities
Stadium de Toulouse is also home to several
fronton walls on the stadium campus, which are used for local handball/pelota sports. Most recently, in August 2022, it played host to an international
One-Wall handball/Wallball tournament, the 2022 French Open, part of the
European 1-Wall Tour, with Great Britain's Dan Grant winning the Men's Open title and Helena Hernanz Sanchez of France winning the Women's Open title. The 2022 Open was organised with the help and support of the Tolosa Gaels
GAA Club and the local Government.
References
Toulouse FC
Stade Toulousain
Toulouse
Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and fr ...
Rugby League World Cup stadiums
Rugby league stadiums in France
Rugby union stadiums in France
Rugby World Cup stadiums
1998 FIFA World Cup stadiums
Multi-purpose stadiums in France
Sports venues in Toulouse
UEFA Euro 2016 stadiums
Sports venues completed in 1937
Olympic football venues
Venues of the 2024 Summer Olympics
{{Summer-Olympic-venue-stub