Parc des sports de Marville, Sports complex in La Courneuve, France
The Parc des sports de Marville spans La Courneuve and Saint-Denis, with the Stade Marville as its centrepiece: a rectangular grass pitch enclosed by a low barrier, overlooked by a raised grandstand with a flat white roof on slender columns above dark tiered seating. Curved transparent shelters line the near touchline, and a dense tree line stands beyond the field. The complex also holds a swimming pool, training pitches and a futsal hall.
The site was bought in fourteen transactions between 1907 and 1909 by the Société sportive d'encouragement à l'élevage du cheval en France, which had architects André Raimbert and Jean Papet lay out a horse racing track with a 100-metre public grandstand. No races were ever held; in 1927 the Greyhound Club de France converted it into a greyhound track with a mechanical hare, but the betting law stalled. The Conseil général de la Seine remodelled it as a multi-sports ground, inaugurated in 1932.
The name Marville comes from the medieval Merville manor, one of three estates held by the royal abbey of Saint-Denis. From 1960 to 1965 and again in 1971 the park hosted the Fête de l'Humanité, the festival of the communist daily L'Humanité, before it moved to the neighbouring Parc Georges-Valbon. Today the Flash de La Courneuve, an American football club, has played its European Football League games at the stadium.
Access is available during daytime and evening hours, with different schedules on weekdays and weekends. Visitors should check in advance which facilities are available on their planned visit day.
The site was used for training preparation for the 2024 Olympics, with dedicated spaces for rugby sevens and judo teams. This temporary international use brought additional attention and investment to the facility.
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