Olympic Games: Venue
The field hockey venue for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games has history - a century long legacy of Olympic excellence. Read more about the past, present and future of the Yves-du-Manoir Stadium.
Past
In the heart of Colombes, a suburb of Paris, stands the Yves-du-Manoir Stadium, rich with sporting hertiage. Designed by architect Louis Faure-Dujarric, the stadium was the main arena for the VIII Olympiad in 1924, when it played host to the Opening Ceremony and a few athletic events of the Games.
Up until 1972 when the Parc des Princes was inaugurated, the Yves-du-Manoir multi-sports venue, named after a French rugby player, was the main stadium in the Paris region. It has hosted around 250 national and international competitions over the past century, including athletics, rugby, football and even boxing, including the 1972 World Championship, which was held in front of 40,000 spectators.
Yves-du-Manoir Stadium has been renovated several times, and the Hauts-de-Seine department, which owns this facility, will be launching a modernization program to benefit its communities, associations, schools and universities.
This was also the venue for the 1938 FIFA World Cup.
Present
After being in decline for 50 years, the Yves-du-Manoir Stadium underwent a 2 year special renovation and revitalization project. The Hauts-de-Seine department invest3d more than $98 million to build three Olympic pitches, two buildings including one with a 1,000-seat stand and seven multisport areas, as well as renovating the stands from 1924 to make the venue an even bigger part of history.
The stadium now seats 15,000 spectators and will host the men's and women's competition. On May 4 and 5, the FIH hosted a test event to conduct all the operational checks of the Stadium ahead of the Games. Various junior and senior teams were in action.
Future
Following Paris 2024, one of the new buildings at Yves du Manoir Stadium will be home to the French Hockey Federation, the Ile-de-France League and the Departmental Hockey Committee, which will be followed by a resident club. Two synthetic hockey pitches - one for competitions, with a 1,000-seat stand, and one for training - will be set aside for the Federation’s national training center. Upon staging field hockey at Paris 2024, Yves du Manoir Stadium will become the only venue in the country of France to host events from two separate Olympic Games.
Portions of Content Courtesy of FIH, Olympics.com & NBCOlympics.com