Paris Saint-Germain are set to leave their home stadium amid an escalating row with the mayor of Paris.
The Parc des Princes has been Les Parisiens' home since back in 1974, when they played in Ligue 1 under the PSG name for the first time. It was their stadium when they won Ligue 1 for the first time in the 1985-86 season, and they have continued to play home games there during their current dominant era.
Soon, though, things could change. A back-and-forth with mayor Anne Hidalgo has not been resolved amicably, and the reigning champions could be forced to look for somewhere else to play.
PSG had been in conversations with the city of Paris over buying the stadium outright. The club have invested heavily into the ground but do not own it, and the latest comments from the mayor suggest that will continue to be the case.
"We have a very clear position," Hidalgo told Le Parisien (via ESPN ). "The Parc des Princes is not for sale, and it will not be sold.
"This is a firm and definitive position. It is an exceptional heritage for Parisians," Hidalgo added. The mayor is said to be open to working with PSG over further improvements, but the club are said to be reluctant to commit significant grounds without taking ownership.
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"It is surprising and disappointing to hear that the mayor of Paris is taking a position which, effectively, will force PSG, our fans and communities away from the Parc des Princes; while also -- quite remarkably -- adding tens of millions of Euros to the taxpayer burden to maintain the structure of the building, which is now 50 years old and in need of renovation," a PSG spokesperson said.
PSG have invested approximately £75m into stadium developments over the years. Much of this investment came in the last decade, with the Ligue 1 club's owners making improvements in the lead-up to the Parc des Princes featuring as a host stadium at Euro 2016.
The club signed a 30-year extension to their lease back in 2013, potentially keeping them at the ground for the foreseeable future. However, based on those comments from the PSG spokesperson, whether they remain there until 2043 is a different matter.
The Parc des Princes played host to five matches at Euro 2016, including the round of 16 tie between Wales and Northern Ireland. and also hosted the third-place play-off when the 1998 World Cup was held in France. However, ahead of that World Cup, it lost its status as the French national stadium to the newly built Stade de France.
