Stade Auguste-Delaune – stadium description

In late Spring of 1935 French president Albert Lebrun himself opened the ground, though it was in fact functioning for a few months then. Just three years later the venue, then call simply Stade Municipal hosted its first and only World Cup game. A promising start was soon at risk due to WWII outbreak. After war ended in 1945, the stadium received name of Auguste Delaune, a sportsman from Normandy tortured and killed by Gestapo.

Despite renovations in 1950’s and 1970’s, the ground needed very serious investment at the start of 21^st Century. Along with ambitions of both the city and local football club new stands with over 21,600 seats were built between 2004 and 2007.

Interestingly, old and new stadiums have some historical statistics in common. Both enjoyed one game of French national team, each time a friendly, each time against a Balkan country and each time ending 2:0 (against Romania in 1970 and Serbia in 2012). Also record attendances for both old and new structures were set during games against Olympique Marseille.

How Stade Auguste-Delaune compares to other Ligue 1 stadiums?