By David Gold
June 9 – Paris St Germain will be staying at the Parc des Princes for “the long term”, Paris City Council have said.
There will however be renovations of the Stadium, which is owned by the local municipal authority, for the European Championships which France will host in 2016.
But the club are keen to increase the current 47,428 capacity in order to help the Parisians become a major force in Europe.
In a statement released by the local municipal authority which owns the Stadium, Paris St Germain were said to want to remain in a arena that “corresponds to the highest international standards and the sporting ambitions of the club.”
It added: “Work will begin in the coming months with the city council and PSG agreeing to continue talks over the best way to go about increasing the capacity of the stadium.”
The Parc des Princes has been the home of the Paris giants since 1973, and was the national team stadium until 1998, when the Stade de Francewas built at Saint-Denis for the World Cup France hosted and won that year.
PSG were bought by Qatari Sports Investments (QSI) almost a year ago, and they have since invested heavily in transfers.
Under then boss Antoine Kombouaré, Paris St Germain signed Javier Pastore, Jérémy Menez, Kevin Gameiro, Blaise Matuidi and Milan Bisevac last summer.
QSI fired Kombouaré at the half way stage of the season, despite the club then leading Ligue 1, replacing him with former AC Milan and Chelsea coach Carlo Ancelotti (pictured).
They then spent heavily again in January, signing Brazilians Alex and Maxwell as well as naturalised Italian Thiago Motta.
QSI have pledged to continue to spend huge sums in a bid to turn the Parisians into a major force, and last month President Nasser Al-Khelaifi said that they wanted to build a new 60,000 seat stadium.
Despite all their spending though, Paris St Germain were beaten to the French title last season by Montpellier; a team who were playing in the second tier three years ago and have spent barely anything, instead relying on bringing through young talent.
Any move from the Parc des Princes could cause anguish from the many who are fond of the old stadium, which played host to the final of the 1984 European Championships, which France won for their first major trophy.
It is also on the site where the original Tour de France race finished.
Contact the writer of this story at zib.l1734784518labto1734784518ofdlr1734784518owedi1734784518sni@d1734784518log.d1734784518ivad1734784518
Related stories
March 2012: Qatari firm QSI buys remaining PSG shares from Colony
November 2011: Sarkozy’s secret meetings to encourage Qatari investment in PSG
June 2011: Qatari investors purchase 70 per cent of Paris St. Germain