Stade Félix Bollaert

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Stade Félix Bollaert is a football stadium in Lens, France that was built in 1932. It is the home of RC Lens. The stadium's capacity is 41,800 (larger than Lens' current population of about 37,000). It takes its name from a commercial director of a local mining company who passed away shortly before the inauguration of the stadium. The stadium will also be hosting matches during the 2007 Rugby World Cup.

[edit] History

The stadium has hosted matches in the following major international tournaments:

1984 Eurocup
1998 FIFA World Cup
1999 FIRA World Cup

[edit] Architecture

Bollaert is constructed in the English style with four separate stands dedicated respectively to :

Henri Trannin: native of Bully-les-Mines, Goalkeeper at the club for 18 years, sports director for Lens from 1952 to 1956, passing away in July 1974; it was dedicated on 4 December 1976
Tony Marek, old player and coach, international in the 50's
Élie Delacourt, previous fans' group president;
Max Lepagnot, old president of the district of Artois.

All the places in the stadium are sitting, however most supporters in the Marek stand as it is considered the "kop". This is common in most stadiums where the rowdiest fans sit behind the nets.