Stade Gabriel Montpied is a multi-purpose French Stadium located in the central city and commune of Clermont-Ferrand. First opened back in December 1995, the 10,607 capacity ground is primarily used for football matches of local team Clermont Foot Auvergne 63.
Table of Contents
Stadium Guide
History
Stade Gabriel Montpied first opened on 30th December 1996, and was the only stadium architect Jacques Kalisz built throughout his distinguished career. Often compared to Limerick’s Thomond Park, the stadium’s design is said to resemble a human eye – courtesy of the is centred on the curved presence of the large Gergovie stand.
Capable of seating 8,000 supporters, the main stand seats more fans than the rest of the stadium put together. Whilst commended for its aesthetics, structurally the roof design has at times being problematic. Due to its tall structure and enclosed nature it suffers from high wind resistance, and on 27th December 1999 a storm caused damage to around 60% of the roof.
The record attendance at Clermont Foot’s stadium was set on July 23rd 2014 in a preseason friendly between Olympique Marseilles and S.L Benfica. It was hosted at Gabriel Montpied because Marseille’s Stade Vélodrome was undergoing expansion in preparation for Euro 2016.
As for the future of Stade Gabriel Montpied there has been growing speculation since at least 2012 that it could be largely rebuilt to a state-of-the-art stadium. Similar to what Udinese are currently doing with Stadio Friuli to preserve the iconic main stand, the renovation would involve the construction of a horse-shoe shaped stand across three sections of the pitch, with a total capacity of 30,000.
Seating Plan
Below is a seating plan of Clermont's Stade Gabriel Montpied:
Stands
Stade Gabriel Montpied is comprised of four stands: North, East, South and West.
Click the thumbnails above to enlarge an image of each stand and to read a more detailed description of each part of the stadium.
