Stade Grimonprez-Jooris was a multi-purpose stadium in Lille, France, built in 1974. It was used mainly for football matches as it was home to the Lille OSC football club from 1975 until 2004, when the stadium was closed.
The club originally planned to have Grimonprez-Jooris redeveloped into a 33,000-seat stadium, but this proposal was rejected, and the Grand Stade Lille Métropole was constructed instead.
The stadium was officially opened on 28 October 1975,[1] when Lille played a friendly against Dutch side Feyenoord (which ended in a 1–1 draw) and the last match at the stadium was played on 15 May 2004, Lille's last home game in the 2003–04 Ligue 1 season against SC Bastia.[2] Lille won the game 2–0 with Matt Moussilou scoring the last goal in the history of Grimonprez-Jooris.[3]
The club's original stadium Stade Henri-Jooris had been demolished in 1975 in order to allow the enlargement of the Canal de la Deûle, a navigable waterway which passes through the city of Lille, and the design for a new stadium was made by Lille architect Pierre-François Delannoyla. Although the club wanted the new stadium to retain the old name Stade Henri Jooris (named after Henri Jooris, former Lille OSC manager), the mayor proposed it to be called Stade Félix Grimonprez after Félix Grimonprez, a former field hockey player who competed in the 1928 Summer Olympics and the 1936 Summer Olympics. This resulted in a compromise solution in which the stadium was hence named Stade Grimonprez-Jooris.
The stadium's original capacity was 25,000 at the time it was opened, but this was reduced to around 17,000 by 2000 due to the evolution of safety standards. In 2000 the stadium was renovated and the capacity was increased to 21,128 (14,534 seated). However, the stadium still failed to meet FIFA licensing regulations and Lille had to play their 2001–02 UEFA Champions League matches at the Stade Félix-Bollaert.[4]
Redevelopment plans and demolitionedit
Plans to build a new stadium compliant with UEFA's standards were made in 2002, when the club was privatised. City authorities tried to persuade the club's new owners to redevelop the existing stadium, but they refused and instead opted for a plan to build a new 60,000-seat stadium outside the city, financed as a public-private partnership. However, their search for investors willing to finance the ambitious project was met with little success.
In June 2003 the club's board agreed to a new proposal put forward by the city mayor to build a new 33,000-seat stadium on the site of the Grimonprez-Jooris. Preliminary works which included dismantling of training grounds were undertaken, and the delivery was scheduled for 31 December 2004 but was postponed. In the meantime the funding of the project moved from the City Council to the Urban Community of Lille Métropole and became 100 percent public. Construction work was then planned to begin in early 2005, but the project faced opposition from preservationists who successfully prevented the project to obtain necessary permits as the site of the stadium was close to the 17th-century Citadel of Lille. The delays forced Lille OSC to play their league matches at Stadium Nord Lille Métropole and their 2005–06 UEFA Champions League games at Stade de France in the Paris suburb of Saint-Denis.[2]
After two years of court battles, local courts had declared issued building permits void in July and December 2005, which meant that Grimonprez-Jooris II would never come into existence. Once the dismantling of training grounds was completed, the club moved their facilities to Camphin-en-Pévèle. The failed project cost the city of Lille 6 million euros, including 3 million paid to the architecture bureau, 2 million in damages to businesses which invested in the project and 1 million for court fees. The future of the stadium was unclear until January 2007 when the Urban Community of Lille Métropole decided to fund the demolition of the stadium. The demolition works finally began in March 2010.
Referencesedit
^"Stade Grimonprez-Jooris". The Stadium Guide. Retrieved 31 July 2010.
^ abChâtelet, Christian (28 September 2005). "Long journey home for Lille". UEFA. Retrieved 27 July 2010.
^"Ligue 1 : LOSC Lille Métropole / SC Bastia - Week 37 - Match Stats". Ligue 1. Retrieved 31 July 2010.
^"Halilhodzic to leave LOSC". UEFA. 24 April 2002. Retrieved 27 July 2010.
External linksedit
Article about the failed redevelopment at Zoom sur Lille(in French)
January 01, 1970
stade, grimonprez, jooris, multi, purpose, stadium, lille, france, built, 1974, used, mainly, football, matches, home, lille, football, club, from, 1975, until, 2004, when, stadium, closed, locationlille, francecoordinates50, 6445528, 0469722, 6445528, 0469722. Stade Grimonprez Jooris was a multi purpose stadium in Lille France built in 1974 It was used mainly for football matches as it was home to the Lille OSC football club from 1975 until 2004 when the stadium was closed Stade Grimonprez JoorisLocationLille FranceCoordinates50 38 40 39 N 3 2 49 10 E 50 6445528 N 3 0469722 E 50 6445528 3 0469722Capacity21 128SurfaceGrassConstructionBuilt1974Opened28 October 1975Renovated2000Closed15 May 2004Demolished2010ArchitectPierre Francois DelannoylaTenantsLille OSC 1975 2004 The club originally planned to have Grimonprez Jooris redeveloped into a 33 000 seat stadium but this proposal was rejected and the Grand Stade Lille Metropole was constructed instead The stadium was officially opened on 28 October 1975 1 when Lille played a friendly against Dutch side Feyenoord which ended in a 1 1 draw and the last match at the stadium was played on 15 May 2004 Lille s last home game in the 2003 04 Ligue 1 season against SC Bastia 2 Lille won the game 2 0 with Matt Moussilou scoring the last goal in the history of Grimonprez Jooris 3 Contents 1 History 2 Redevelopment plans and demolition 3 References 4 External linksHistory editThe club s original stadium Stade Henri Jooris had been demolished in 1975 in order to allow the enlargement of the Canal de la Deule a navigable waterway which passes through the city of Lille and the design for a new stadium was made by Lille architect Pierre Francois Delannoyla Although the club wanted the new stadium to retain the old name Stade Henri Jooris named after Henri Jooris former Lille OSC manager the mayor proposed it to be called Stade Felix Grimonprez after Felix Grimonprez a former field hockey player who competed in the 1928 Summer Olympics and the 1936 Summer Olympics This resulted in a compromise solution in which the stadium was hence named Stade Grimonprez Jooris The stadium s original capacity was 25 000 at the time it was opened but this was reduced to around 17 000 by 2000 due to the evolution of safety standards In 2000 the stadium was renovated and the capacity was increased to 21 128 14 534 seated However the stadium still failed to meet FIFA licensing regulations and Lille had to play their 2001 02 UEFA Champions League matches at the Stade Felix Bollaert 4 Redevelopment plans and demolition editPlans to build a new stadium compliant with UEFA s standards were made in 2002 when the club was privatised City authorities tried to persuade the club s new owners to redevelop the existing stadium but they refused and instead opted for a plan to build a new 60 000 seat stadium outside the city financed as a public private partnership However their search for investors willing to finance the ambitious project was met with little success In June 2003 the club s board agreed to a new proposal put forward by the city mayor to build a new 33 000 seat stadium on the site of the Grimonprez Jooris Preliminary works which included dismantling of training grounds were undertaken and the delivery was scheduled for 31 December 2004 but was postponed In the meantime the funding of the project moved from the City Council to the Urban Community of Lille Metropole and became 100 percent public Construction work was then planned to begin in early 2005 but the project faced opposition from preservationists who successfully prevented the project to obtain necessary permits as the site of the stadium was close to the 17th century Citadel of Lille The delays forced Lille OSC to play their league matches at Stadium Nord Lille Metropole and their 2005 06 UEFA Champions League games at Stade de France in the Paris suburb of Saint Denis 2 After two years of court battles local courts had declared issued building permits void in July and December 2005 which meant that Grimonprez Jooris II would never come into existence Once the dismantling of training grounds was completed the club moved their facilities to Camphin en Pevele The failed project cost the city of Lille 6 million euros including 3 million paid to the architecture bureau 2 million in damages to businesses which invested in the project and 1 million for court fees The future of the stadium was unclear until January 2007 when the Urban Community of Lille Metropole decided to fund the demolition of the stadium The demolition works finally began in March 2010 References edit Stade Grimonprez Jooris The Stadium Guide Retrieved 31 July 2010 a b Chatelet Christian 28 September 2005 Long journey home for Lille UEFA Retrieved 27 July 2010 Ligue 1 LOSC Lille Metropole SC Bastia Week 37 Match Stats Ligue 1 Retrieved 31 July 2010 Halilhodzic to leave LOSC UEFA 24 April 2002 Retrieved 27 July 2010 External links editArticle about the failed redevelopment at Zoom sur Lille in French Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Stade Grimonprez Jooris amp oldid 1114149555, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
