Stade de l'Abbé-Deschamps, Football stadium in Auxerre, France
The Stade de l'Abbé-Deschamps is a football stadium in Auxerre that has operated since 1918 and currently holds over 18,500 spectators. The playing field measures approximately 105 meters long and 68 meters wide, surrounded by modern stands that were constructed in phases from the 1980s onward.
The stadium was established in 1918 when local organizers purchased land beside the Yonne River to create an independent playing space. After World War II, the club gradually expanded, and from the 1960s onward, under the influence of Guy Roux, systematic improvements were made to the facilities.
The ground is named after Abbé Ernest-Théodore Valentin Deschamps (1868-1949), the priest who founded the AJ Auxerre patronage club; the stadium took his name in 1949, after his death. The 1930 stand was blessed by Auxerre bishop Émile Chesnelong. The club owns the stadium outright, one of only a handful of French professional clubs to do so.
The ground sits in the Preuilly plain along the Yonne, and the 2023 works replaced the floodlights and the fencing. Visitor seating is grey, while the away section is set apart with its own colour scheme. The club has bought the former campsite next door to build a car park, a shop and a ticket office, so approach routes may change.
The ground has remained in the same location for over a century, giving it a sense of stability and history that few French stadiums share. This continuity means that generations of supporters have watched their first matches here and later brought their own children to the same spot.
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