Les Gones seem to face one problem after the other in their bid to build a new stadium for the Ligue 1 outfit. The new stadium was designed to seat 61,500 people, expected to be completed in early 2014, faces hurdles set by administration and local
communities
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Olympique-Lyonnais-c40130 President, Jean-Michel Aulas announced plans for creating a new stadium back in 2008. The stadium was named Stade des Lumieres and was supposed to be completed by early 2014. However progress has been slow due to certain issues faced by
the club.
The club was allotted an area of 50 hectares for their new stadium in the area of Decines-Charpieu, Lyon. The building permit was signed by the mayor of the city, Credoz Pierre and is proclaimed as ‘the OL Land’. The stadium is set to include state-of-the-art
sporting facilities, along with two hotels, a leisure centre and space for commercial and business activities.
However, progress has been slow regarding the construction of the new stadium due to slow administrative process, political interest and other such concerns. Furthermore, the city administration has twice cancelled the proposed design for the stadium, which
has driven the club impatient.
The Stade des Lumieres was expected to be completed in early 2014. However, the club’s efforts to get the stadium off the ground have been interrupted over and over again. The club hopes that the stadium is ready before the start of the 2015/16 season, as
the French Football Federation hopes to include the stadium in its bid for hosting the UEFA Euro 2016.
The OL Land is set to cost around €450 million for its completion. The stadium would be available to accommodate 61,500 spectators inside it. The venue would overtake Stade Velodrome’s position as the second largest football stadium in http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/France-c2899.
Les Gones have been playing at the Stade Gerland since 1927, with the stadium being expanded thrice in 1960, 1980 and 1998 respectively. Gerland had a capacity to seat 40,500 spectators.
However, Aulas firmly believes that it’s necessary for the club to move on to a new venue, as the current stadium no more has the required seats to fill for the club’s ever-increasing fan base.
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