Stade du Commandant Bougouin, Municipal stadium and velodrome in the Alphonse Guérin neighbourhood, Rennes, France
Stade du Commandant Bougouin is a municipal stadium in the Alphonse Guérin district of Rennes, covering 25,000 m². A cycling track rings an athletics track, with a football pitch at the centre; two tennis courts, gymnastics apparatus, showers and changing rooms under the stands complete the 1924 layout. Covered stands seat 2,000, and 8,000 spectators fit around the ground.
The city bought the land in 1921; it already held the Laënnec velodrome. Mayor Jean Janvier commissioned the municipal stadium, designed by city architect Emmanuel Le Ray and inaugurated in July 1924 with a gymnastics festival. It was renamed in 1957 after Commandant Bougouin, head of the Rennes fire brigade and gymnastics teacher, who died in 1954. Stands, changing rooms and the perimeter wall were rebuilt in 1964 to plans by Marcel Bodénez.
The stadium carries the name of Commandant Bougouin, commander of the Rennes fire brigade and gymnastics teacher in the municipal schools, who died on 12 November 1954; the velodrome was renamed in his honour in 1957. The REC rugby club and the women's Stade rennais rugby team play here today.
The stadium sits in the Alphonse Guérin neighbourhood, with the track and central pitch visible from the surrounding perimeter; the covered stands hold 2,000 and the grounds 8,000. It is a municipal facility shared by REC rugby and Stade rennais rugby, so the pitch and track are used for club training and matches rather than general visiting. Access to the stands depends on the event being held.
The velodrome track encircles both an athletics track and a central football field, an unusual arrangement for a cycling venue. This concentration of sports in one location was an innovative solution for urban development when it was built.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 92,862 contributors worldwide.