Stade Aimé Giral, multi-purpose Stadium in Perpignan, France
Stade Aimé-Giral is a rugby ground in central Perpignan, home of USA Perpignan since 1940. Two side stands, named Jep Desclaux and Jules Chevalier, flank the pitch; behind the posts stand the Fernand Vaquer stand, housing the changing rooms, and the Bernard Goutta stand built in 2008, whose roof carries solar panels. The photograph shows light blue seating under a roof on thin posts, with curved concrete arches above and a floodlight tower at one end.
The stadium has been the home of USA Perpignan since 1940 and is named after Aimé Giral, the fly-half whose late conversion won the 1914 French Championship final; he was killed at Somme-Suippes in 1915, aged 19. A monument at the entrance lists him among 49 players and officials of the two Perpignan clubs who died in the First World War. The ground was expanded from 13,500 to 14,593 seats in a project completed in 2008, and an arson fire damaged the Chevalier stand in July 2025.
The stadium's name honours Aimé Giral, the fly-half whose late conversion won the 1914 French Championship final; he died in 1915, aged 19. USAP supporters, known as Catalans, gather for the traditional grillade and cargolade on the Champ-de-Mars before Top 14 finals. The club counts 24 penyes (supporters' clubs), including four in South Catalonia, one in Andorra, and branches in Paris and Toulouse.
The ground sits in central Perpignan, with the main stand running along one side of the pitch and the Vaquer and Goutta stands behind the posts at each end. The Goutta stand, built in 2008, carries solar panels on its roof. Seats are hard to come by for non-subscribers: the club counted 11,500 season-ticket holders in 2010/2011.
The stadium's second end stand, built in 2008 and named after former captain Bernard Goutta, carries solar panels on its roof that supply part of the ground's energy needs. Goutta had just retired to become the club's forwards coach when the stand opened.
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