Stade de la Meinau, Football stadium in Strasbourg, France
Stade de la Meinau is a rectangular football stadium in the Meinau district of Strasbourg, with four main stands (North, South, West and East) joined by quarter-corners around a green pitch. A running track and low advertising boards, including an OPEL panel, separate the pitch from continuous tiers of blue and white seats. A ribbed roof overhangs the near side and one end, and a row of white floodlights runs along the top of the stands.
Football was first played here in 1906, when FC Frankonia levelled the Haemmerlé Garten meadow and put up black-and-white goalposts. On 1 April 1914 FC Neudorf, later RC Strasbourg, signed a 300 Mark lease for the ground after a court ruling evicted Frankonia. A first wooden stand followed in 1921, the year the ground took the name Stade de la Meinau; a second wooden stand in 1930 brought capacity to 18,000. The stadium was rebuilt in 1984 for Euro 1984, inaugurated on 18 April at a cost of just over FRF 120 million.
The stadium is owned by the Strasbourg municipality and rented by RC Strasbourg, whose supporters fill the blue and white seats of the bowl-shaped stands. In 1988 Pope John Paul II celebrated a Mass here, and the ground has also served as a concert venue. The ground lies beside the Krimmeri in the Meinau district.
The stadium is located in the Meinau district and is easy to reach from the city center. Visitors will find food and beverage options on-site and should arrive early to allow time for travel and parking.
During the 1938 FIFA World Cup, a match between Brazil and Poland took place here where Brazilian player Leônidas performed one of football's first bicycle kicks. This moment is remembered in football history as a turning point for a revolutionary style of play.
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