Stade Geoffroy-Guichard (Saint-Étienne)

Stade Geoffroy-Guichard is a multi-purpose stadium in Saint-Étienne, France. It is used primarily for football matches, and tournaments such as the UEFA Euro 1984 and 2016, the 1998 FIFA World Cup and the 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup. It is also used for rugby union, and was a venue at the 2007 Rugby World Cup. It is nicknamed “le Chaudron” (the Cauldron), or “l’enfer vert” (the Green Hell), an allusion to the colours worn by the local football team, AS Saint-Étienne, given during the team’s heyday when it drew particularly large crowds (the record being set in 1985, with more than 47,000 spectators).

More recently, its current capacity was 35,616 before the current renovations, which began in 2011 and have temporarily reduced this figure to 26,747. When the renovations are finished, the stadium will hold 42,000 seated spectators.

General information

Arena capacity: 41,965 spectators

Address: 14 Rue Paul et Pierre Guichard, 42000 Saint-Étienne, France

GPS coordinates for the navigator: 45°27′39″N 4°23′25″E

Year of construction: 1930

Construction cost: €71.8 million

Field: AirFibr (hybrid grass) lawn

Seating plan of Stade Geoffroy-Guichard

Unlike most modern grounds in France, Stade Geoffroy-Guichard is not built in a bowl style. Rather it has a more traditional four-sided appearance with stands on each side of the pitch. The stands are named The Charles Paret Stand, which is in the North, The Jean Snella Stand, which is in the South, The Pierre Faurand Stand and The Henri Point Stand.

Both the Charles Paret Stand and The Jean Snella Stand also have Kop sections towards the front of the stands that house the more vocal and excitable Saint-Étienne fans. The two side stands, meanwhile, have two tiers that are separated by a row of executive boxes.

When choosing a place in the stadium, use the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard scheme above.

Where to buy tickets?

Tickets are reasonably easy to come by for matches at Stade Geoffroy-Guichard, unless Saint-Étienne are playing one of their main rivals. The pricing of the tickets varies depending on where in the ground you want to sit and which team it is that Les Verts are going up against.

How to get As Saint-Étienne Tickets

As with pretty much every top-end football club nowadays, the best play to turn if you’re looking for tickets for AS Saint-Étienne matches is the club’s official website. You can speak to the box office on the phone, too, as well as by going to the ticket office at the stadium. There is a club shop near to the stadium that sells tickets for matches and you can also apply for tickets via Francebillet, Ticketnet and Digitick sales outlets that are dotted around the city. Interestingly the club’s website specifies that Ticketbis, viagogo, Good Corner and eBay are all classed as illegal resale sites.

How to get there?

Stade Geoffroy-Guichard is about 2.5 km outside of the city itself, but there are still plenty of ways to get to the ground from the city. Here are some of the more obvious options you might want to consider.

Train

If you’re looking to get to Saint-Étienne from London then your best bet is to get The Eurostar from St. Panras International to either Paris or Lyon before jumping on a local train to Gare de Saint-Étienne-Châteaucreux, or Châteaucreux for short.

There is an excellent tram system in Saint-Étienne and it is one of the quickest ways to get to the ground. You’ll get either the T1 or the T2 line heading North from Place Jean Jaurès, getting off at Stop G. Guichard. From there you’ll have a ten minute or so stroll to the stadium itself.

Bus

There is a number 9 bus that runs from outside the train station directly to the stadium. The buses run every 15 minutes or so and should take about 10 minutes to get you to the ground. Keep your eyes and ears peeled for Le Marais, the closest stop to Stade Geoffroy-Guichard.

Car

The stadium is close to the A72 motorway. You’ll want to take exit 13, which will be labelled Montreynaud/Technopole, and then head towards the city until you see the ground.

By Air

Saint-Étienne–Bouthéon Airport is about 12 km North-West of the centre of Saint-Étienne. It is a hub for low-cost carriers and their flights towards the Rhône-Alpes region of France.

Taxi

A taxi from the airport to the ground will take about 15 minutes and should set you back something in the region of €30. As always with getting a taxi, if you get caught in traffic then you could end up paying significantly more.

Parking Near Stade Geoffroy-Guichard

There is a park and ride system set-up near to the stadium, as well as numerous public parking options not too far away.

Stade Geoffroy-Guichard Hotels

Saint-Étienne is a lovely city with plenty of options for your hotel stay needs. We’ve picked some options out for you here, though, in case you’re over-whelmed by your choices.

Austria, St. Étienne – £48+

– 21 Place Massenet, Saint-Étienne, Loire, 42000

The Austria is located just 1200 yards from Stade Geoffroy-Guichard and offers free Wi-Fi, seminar rooms and up to 30 guest rooms.

City Lofthotel Saint Étienne – £60+

15 Rue Gambetta, Saint-Étienne, Loire, 42000

The Lofthotel is located in the centre of Saint-Étienne so it’s a little further away from the stadium than the other two hotels on here. It has 86 state-of-the-art apartments and studios so is the ideal place to stay if you’re in Saint Étienne with your family.

Hôtel du Golf, St. Étienne – £100+

67 Rue Saint Simon, Saint-Étienne, Loire, 42000

The Hotel du Golf is a lovely hotel about a mile and a half from the stadium. It has a restaurant and bar as well as a 24-hour business centre and meeting rooms. There is also a garden that offers a lovely place to chill-out before or after you’ve been to watch the football.

Pubs & Bars Near Stade Geoffroy-Guichard

The majority of the best pubs and bars for football lovers are located in the city centre, rather than close to the ground. We’ve picked some of our favourites out for your consideration here:

Le Saint Patrick

44 Rue des Martyrs de Vingré, 42000

Despite the addition of the ‘Le’ to the title lending it a French feel, this place is very much an Irish bar in the heart of Saint-Étienne. You’ll get Guinness, a dart board and pool table to play with as well as live sport on big screens. Perfect.

Crazy Leprechaun

18 Rue Notre Dame, 42000

Another Irish bar that offers excellent craic, good drink options and snack food options. There is a terrace out of the back and there are up to 20 whiskeys on the menu.

The Smoking Dog

5 Rue Georges Dupre, 42000

The Smoking Dog offers excellent food and a brilliant atmosphere, so it’s well worth heading to if you’re looking for somewhere to have a pre-match pint. It does have an Irish feel to it but perhaps not as full-on as the other two pubs on this list!

Facilities

Much like with the hospitality lounges at Stade Geoffroy-Guichard, the facilities are good but perhaps not as excellent as you’d expect from a newer, more modern stadium. You’ll still find plenty of places to buy some food and get a drink as well as reasonably comfortable seats with good views of the action.

Hospitality

The stadium underwent numerous redevelopments ahead of its hosting job in the 2016 European Championship tournament. Part of that included the addition of new hospitality areas in the ground that will make your match day experience a special one. Owing to the overall age of the stadium the quality of the hospitality sections might not be as top-class as you’d expect at a newer ground, but the service will still be top-notch.

Private hire

There are eight different ‘salons’ at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard available for private hire. They can be set up in numerous different ways depending on how many guests you are hoping to have and what event it is that you’re hoping to host. If you need more information on your private hire options then it’s worth getting in touch with the club directly.

History

Stade Geoffroy-Guichard was built on a plot of land that was donated to the club by its founder Geoffroy Guichard (who also founded the retail group Casino). The president of the club, his son Pierre, in turn decided to name the stadium after his father.

Stade Geoffroy-Guichard officially opened on 13 September 1931 with a match between AS Stéphanoise (which would later become Saint-Etienne) and Cannes (1-9).

The stadium consisted of a single grand stand of 800 seats, several terraces, and a running track circling the pitch. The adjacent steel works regularly blew their fumes over the pitch.

Stade Geoffroy-Guichard underwent a major change in 1956 when the running tracks were removed and the stands remodelled in a rectangular shape.

In 1968, after the city of Saint-Etienne had become owner of the stadium, further works were performed, which included a brand new stand opposite the main stand and cover for the two kop stands. This resulted in a capacity of almost 40,000.

The stadium got further expanded and renovated for the Euro 1984 Championships, resulting in a capacity of 48,270, almost half of them seats. During the championships it hosted two group matches.

It took until a next major tournament, the 1998 World Cup, for the stadium to receive a further major upgrade. Seats were installed and corporate facilities increased.

During the 1998 World Cup, Stade Geoffroy-Guichard hosted a total of five group matches and the round of 16 match between Argentina and England (2-2).

In 2011, Stade Geoffroy-Guichard was selected as a playing venue for the Euro 2016 Championships, and as a result had to undergo major redevelopment works.

The works involved the rebuilding or renovation of all stands, resulting in a 41,500 all-seater arena, and were completed before the start of the 2014/15 season.

During the Euro 2016 Championships, Stade Geoffroy-Guichard hosted three first round group games and the round of 16 games between Poland and Switzerland (1-1).