Stade de Genève, also called Stade de la Praille, is a
stadium
A stadium ( : stadiums or stadia) is a place or venue for (mostly) outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a tiered structure designed to allow spectators to stand o ...
in
Lancy
Lancy is a municipality of the Canton of Geneva
The Canton of Geneva, officially the Republic and Canton of Geneva (french: link=no, République et canton de Genève; frp, Rèpublica et canton de Geneva; german: Republik und Kanton Genf; it, ...
,
Canton of Geneva
The Canton of Geneva, officially the Republic and Canton of Geneva (french: link=no, République et canton de Genève; frp, Rèpublica et canton de Geneva; german: Republik und Kanton Genf; it, Repubblica e Cantone di Ginevra; rm, Republica e ...
. It has a capacity of 30,084.
Overview

The stadium was completed in 2003 by
Zschokke Construction S.A. after nearly three years of construction. Normally the home venue of Geneva's
Servette FC, a Swiss
football team, the stadium hosted
international friendlies between
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, t ...
and
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...
on 12 November 2005, which England won
3-2
Christopher Juel Barriere (July 11, 1972 – November 10, 2016), professionally known as 3-2, was an American rapper and a member of southern hip hop groups Convicts, Blac Monks, Southside Playaz and Screwed Up Click. He achieved success by his ...
and between New Zealand and Brazil on 4 June 2006, which Brazil won 4-0. The venue played host to three group-stage matches for
Group A
Group A is a set of motorsport regulations administered by the FIA covering production derived vehicles intended for competition, usually in touring car racing and rallying. In contrast to the short-lived Group B and Group C, Group A vehicles w ...
during
UEFA Euro 2008
The 2008 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2008 or simply Euro 2008, was the 13th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial association football, football tournament contested by the member nations of UEFA ( ...
.
A memorable match
Turkey-Czech Republic was played in this stadium. The stadium was also used for
rugby union
Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the Comparison of rugby league and rugby union, two codes of ru ...
, with a
2006-07 Heineken Cup clash between
Bourgoin
Bourgoin-Jallieu (; frp, Brégon) is a commune in the Isère department in the region of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes in France. The city had 28,834 inhabitants in 2019 and lies 35 kilometres east-southeast of Lyon. It was formed by the merger of th ...
and
Munster
Munster ( gle, an Mhumhain or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the south of Ireland. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" ( ga, rí ruirech). Following th ...
being moved from
Bourgoin's home ground.
In the summer of 2016 the stadium was equipped with heated hybrid turf, Mixto Hybrid Grass by Limonta Sport to cater the needs of football and rugby clubs of Servette. Installation of the new turf prevented Servette FC from playing home on the first three rounds of the
2016–17 Swiss Challenge League
The 2016–17 Swiss Challenge League (known for sponsorship reasons as the Brack.ch Challenge League) was the 14th season of the Swiss Challenge League, the second tier in the Swiss football pyramid. It began on 23 July 2016 and ended on 3 June 20 ...
.
Throughout the
2019-20 season, all 30,000 seats were replaced with brand new burgundy seats as the old ones had completely faded to a pink/grey color. In addition to that, a small portion of the North stand was left without seats to provide a new standing section for about 500 fans.
NLA Winter Classic
On 11 January 2014, the
National League A
The National League (NL) is a professional ice hockey league in Switzerland and is the top tier of the Swiss league system. Prior to the 2017–18 season, the league was known as National League A. During the 2018–19 season, the league ha ...
played its second Winter Classic (the first one was held on 14 January 2007 at the
Stade de Suisse, Wankdorf
The Wankdorf Stadium (; between 2005 and 2020 known as Stade de Suisse) is a football stadium in Bern, Switzerland. The second largest all-seater football stadium in Switzerland, it currently serves as the home ground of the Swiss football team ...
). The game featured
Genève-Servette HC
The Genève-Servette HC (also called Servette or GSHC) is a professional ice hockey club based in Geneva, Switzerland and competing in the National League (NL), the top tier of the Swiss hockey league system. The team plays their home games at th ...
and
Lausanne HC
, neighboring_municipalities= Bottens, Bretigny-sur-Morrens, Chavannes-près-Renens, Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne, Crissier, Cugy, Écublens, Épalinges, Évian-les-Bains (FR-74), Froideville, Jouxtens-Mézery, Le Mont-sur-Lausanne, Lugrin (F ...
and was played in front of a sellout crowd of 29,400 (the capacity being reduced to 29,400 for security and visibility concerns).
Matches
UEFA Euro 2008
The 2008 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2008 or simply Euro 2008, was the 13th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial association football, football tournament contested by the member nations of UEFA ( ...
The stadium was one of the venues for the
UEFA Euro 2008
The 2008 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2008 or simply Euro 2008, was the 13th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial association football, football tournament contested by the member nations of UEFA ( ...
.
The following games were played at the stadium during the UEFA Euro 2008:
International matches
See also
*
List of football stadiums in Switzerland
The following is a list of football stadiums in Switzerland, ordered by capacity. Capacity is maximum capacity, not just seating capacity. Currently all stadiums with a capacity of 4,000 or more are included. Those in bold are part of the 2020– ...
*
Rugby union in Switzerland
Rugby union in Switzerland is a minor but growing sport.
Governing body
The Swiss Rugby Federation was founded in 1972 and joined the IRFB in 1988.Bath, p75
History
Like neighbouring Germany, Austria and France, Swiss rugby is actually amongst ...
References
External links
Stade de Genève
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stade de Geneve
Football venues in Switzerland
Buildings and structures in Geneva
Sport in Geneva
UEFA Euro 2008 stadiums in Switzerland
Rugby union stadiums in Switzerland
Sports venues completed in 2003
Servette FC
2003 establishments in Switzerland