Stade de Venoix, Multi-purpose stadium in Venoix district, Caen, France.
Stade de Venoix is a multi-purpose facility in the Venoix district with football fields and a cycling track. The grounds can accommodate approximately 3,500 spectators and host various sporting competitions throughout the year.
Football and rugby were played here from 1912, and the Stade Malherbe caennais, formed by a 1913 merger, settled on the ground; a 12-year lease was signed on 27 January 1914. The city of Caen bought the facilities for 350,000 francs in February 1933. The first team left for the Stade Michel-d'Ornano in 1993, and the ground was renamed stade Claude-Mercier in October 2013, inaugurated on 22 February 2014.
The venue serves as a hub for local sports clubs and community participation. It hosts regular competitions that draw fans and athletes who gather to watch football and cycling events together.
The stadium sits in the Venoix district at the western edge of Caen, on the site bordered by the old Venoix commune. The main stand was repainted in July 2024 by Caen artist Seb Toussaint, a member of the Malherbe Normandy Kop, in tribute to club legends who played here. The pitch also serves as a training ground for the cycling school of the Étoile sportive caennaise.
The venue combines a cycling track alongside football fields, an uncommon design approach from the early 1900s. This dual-purpose layout remains rare today and reflects early thinking about efficient multi-sport design.
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