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With its oval, rugby-style pitch, the Municipal Stadium is familiar chiefly to those who regularly follow the Toulouse rugby team. But the venue is also used by the Toulouse Football Club, which just gained its comeback in the french first division. Built on an island between two branches of the Garonne, the Municipal Stadium is located on an exceptional site, an island of greenery a stone's throw from the city centre. TOULOUSE STADIUM figures
Location:
Ile du Ramier, close to city centre 15 mn from airport and train station First inaugurated:
1949 Capacity before
renovation:34,000 places, of which 10% with reduced visibility Capacity in 1998: 37,000 sheltered seats with full visibility ALTERATIONS
Renovation operations:
Lighting, sound, billboarding and videosurveillance system to be brought up to World Cup standards. Construction
operations:Existing roof to be demolished and replaced with a metal and textile structure; pillars in the bench rows to be eliminated so as to increase visibility. 3,500 seat dress circle to be built in the north stand; new boxes. Date of completion:
January 1998 Architect: Cabinet FERRET, principal architect Cabinet Cardete et Huet, associated architects
i The other stadiums
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Photos SAOLA
TOULOUSE:
back to the future!
Although for the younger generation the city of Toulouse is synonymous with rugby rather than football, thanks to the exploits of the Toulouse fifteen, we shouldn't forget that towards the end of the 1950s, the Toulouse Football Club (known as the "Téfécé) was among the best in the country. As runners-up in the French Premier league in 1955 and French Cup winners in 1957, Toulouse F.C. managed to impose its presence in a region where rugby is a religion. It should also be remembered that as far back as 1938, when France staged its first World Cup, Toulouse staged a round of sixteen game between Romania and Cuba. And as was the case in Bordeaux, the football-going public in Toulouse were lucky enough to see two games as the first match ended in a draw (3-3) and had to be replayed 4 days later. In the end Cuba won (2-1) and qualified for the next round.