The project on the new Saint-Symphorien stadium, which was announced in March 2018, is now well underway.
The total capacity will rise from 24,985 to 30,000 seats, which will incur a cost of €60 million (€45.5M given by the club, €5M by the city of Metz and €4.5 by the Grand Est region).
The project is not limited to replacing the southern stands (which dated back to 1976) whose demolition started on Monday. The new stands will be ready in August 2020, in time for the club’s first team to start a new season in the first league, said Bernard Serin, the president of FC Metz. The new stands will have six levels, some of which will be dedicated to businesses and co-working.
As expected, two of the corner stands (South-East and South-West) will also be built by by August 2021. The other two quarters will not be subject to work anytime soon, as they host the pillars that support the Northern stands.
To homogenise the look of the different builds, which were all visibly constructed during different periods, the stadium will be “wrapped” to give it a sleeker, more modern look. The president of the club highlighted the importance of doing this, as the stadium is a visible landmark of the countryside around Metz and can be seen from the busy A31 motorway.
A piazza reserved for pedestrians will be placed behind the new stands and controls of the access routes to the site will also be subject to renovations.
The sound and lighting system is also getting an upgrade.
For the time being, the new stands will not carry anyone’s name, even though the president isn’t entirely against doing so in the future.
During next years construction works, the stadium will be limited to 22,000 seats - a number which is only exceeded on three or four occasions per year.
Once complete, the new stadium should be quite attractive to businesses, including those from Luxembourg. The president of the club expressed the hope that the new stadium will be successful in attracting business from the Grand-Duchy.
