Who owns the Parc des Princes? If for several years, the debate has raged between the PSG and the town hall of Paris, Anne Hidalgo seems to have put an end to it. “The Parc des Princes is not for sale,” said the mayor of the capital in an interview with Parisian this January 14. “And it will not be sold.”
What provoke the anger of the PSG. The football club tries – in vain – to acquire the stadium, currently in possession of the City of Paris. But the town hall remains inflexible. “She pushes us to move”, regretted the president of PSG, Nasser Al-Khelaïfi, at Bloomberg in December. Because the club, like the city, is betting big on the Parc des Princes.
For PSG, imperative work
The challenge is above all financial. Over the 2021-2022 season, PSG earned 131 million euros thanks to its ticketing, according to the latest report from the KPMG firm. Revenues well above those of Bayern (44 million euros) or Real Madrid (64 million euros). However, the Parc des Princes is one of the smallest stadiums among the big European clubs: only 48,000 seats, compared to 99,000 for FC Barcelona and 74,000 for Manchester United.
PSG could therefore enrich themselves even more by increasing the capacity of the Parc des Princes. Only here: the cost of the work amounts to 500 million euros, according to Nasser Al-Khelaïfi. And there is no question for the club to commit this sum without being the owner. “It’s as if you were renting an apartment, and you had to make adjustments,” explains L’Express Pierre Rondeau, sports economist. “There, everything is at the expense of PSG, while the revaluation of the stadium benefits the owner, that is to say the City of Paris.”
Doing away with the expansion of the Park is not an option either. Also according to KPMG, the club is in a difficult position. It recorded nearly 369 million euros in losses over the 2021-2022 financial year, in particular due to the Covid. To continue to afford players like Messi and Mbappé, and dream of a victory in the Champions League, PSG must therefore exploit an easy source of income: ticketing.
For the town hall of Paris, a precious asset
But the mayor of Paris has no intention of giving in. It owns the stadium under an emphyteutic lease for a period of thirty years, renewed in 2014. The sale is only possible if PSG offers it an amount that it deems acceptable. Emmanuel Grégoire, first deputy mayor, had mentioned on RMC a price of 350 million euros. “For the club, this is not acceptable,” notes Pierre Rondeau. “PSG is considering 500 million euros of work. If we add the cost of the sale, you might as well build a new stadium.”
Will Anne Hidalgo close the negotiations? If it can be a blow of pressure on the PSG, “we must not forget that the town hall of Paris is very indebted”, indicates Pierre Rondeau. Up to 7.75 billion euros on December 31, 2022, according to her. If the city remains solvent, it is because it also owns assets… like the Parc des Princes.
It remains to be seen who will win the showdown. If Paris does not sell, PSG could find themselves forced to move, with several visual tracks. The Stade de France is mentioned, like the racecourse of Saint-Cloud. The town halls of Poissy and Joinville-le-Pont have both said they are ready to welcome the new PSG stadium. “It is clear that for a club with such ambitions, playing in a 48,000 seater is paradoxical”, recognizes Pierre Rondeau. An ascent is therefore planned. With or without the Parc des Princes.