Toulouse ground finally begins renovation

[The Daddy]

Couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the pictures this morning 

[The 4 of Us]

I’ve heard of a teaser, but this is ridiculous.  

[Wiltshire Warrior Dragon]

try www.to13.com.  

[Sick39ed]

is this their current ground or old ground?

[gogledd]

http://www.to13.com/actualites/les-travaux-du-stade-arnaune-ont-commence/

[Damien]

Great news and just in time for the proposed restructure and return to licensing too 

[Man of Kent]

Do we know what the refurb will look like? Or the capacity?

[Fabou]

their old and historic ground.

Capacity wont be that much, but there are at the moment not enough fans anyway.

does someone know when it is planned to be ready??

[jpmc]

1 hour ago, Damien said:

Great news and just in time for the proposed restructure and return to licensing too 

Taking their lead from a  couple of west yorkshire clubs i think

[Yakstorm]

The original plan was to turn Stade Des Minimes into a 10K venue. Artist impression below: 

[Fabou]

1 hour ago, Yakstorm said:

The original plan was to turn Stade Des Minimes into a 10K venue. Artist impression below: 

I dont see the "avenue des minimes entrance" on this plan... but we will have to wait the thousands away fans from SL clubs so the city will increase it to this kind of capacity...

[audois]

Stade Arnaune is in the Minimes suburb just a twenty minute walk from the city centre. Toulouse Olympique has been there since their formation in 1937. Presently the ground looks dilapidated and passed its best. After a lot of lobbying the club has persuaded the city council to up-grade the facility. The major re-fit will cost €10.6M and will entail the full reconstruction of the two existing grandstands and raising the seating capacity to 3,635 from the present 2,000. The other main innovation is the construction of a new extended club house behind the posts which will incorporate new changing rooms, a weights gym, club offices and sponsors/partners loges. The building work is 6 months behind schedule and is now expected to be completed by mid 2019.

With standing accommodation the capacity is likely to be around the 5,000 at most. They had envisaged a stand behind the posts at the opposite end to the club house but the council backed down on that after objections from the local community. In reality TOXIII have very rarely challenged the existing capacity in its eighty years of existence. There crowds presently are improving slowly year on year since returning to the English competitions in 2016.

If the club realised its long term goal of a Super League place – remembering it was once promised back in 1996 – they would have to mix and match when scheduling home games certainly in the early years. If it was tomorrow maybe half of the present top tier clubs could be accommodated at a rebuilt Minimes with others being relocated to other grounds within the city boundaries. Its highly probable that a game against Catalans would attract a crowd three times the capacity of a completely re-furbished Stade Arnaune and could be played at Stade Toulousains Ernest-Wallon ground (19,000).

Toulouse need a good facility base for training purposes and to host games for their Elite1 reserves and its U19s sides.

 

 

[DlEHARD]

Super League here they come.

Looks great.

[The 4 of Us]

2 hours ago, Yakstorm said:

The original plan was to turn Stade Des Minimes into a 10K venue. Artist impression below: 

You failed to give appropriate credit to Phillipe, aged 9, of Arrondissement de Toulouse Elementary.

[Evil Homer]

Unfortunately this is not really good news at all, the plans have been greatly scaled back from those posted above and the new capacity will only be around 4,000 with little prospect for expansion. If they make Super League the ground will not be close to adequate and they will have to play elsewhere.

Here are the actual plans:

http://www.rugbyforumxiii.com/forum/download/file.php?id=70378

http://www.rugbyforumxiii.com/forum/download/file.php?id=70379

For any Super League matches to be played at Arnaune they will either have to build a very large stand in the small area behind the goal, or pretty much just knock the whole thing down and start again. What is being built now is essentially a training base and a home ground for TO Broncos rather than a SL venue.

[RayCee]

I have to say while it is good to get a better facility for the club, it certainly isn't a SL ground. Of course, if they never end up getting into SL, a 10k stadium would be an overkill. For a championship side, it would work. As mentioned by Audois, it is needed for an Elite 1 and U19 teams either way. The Stade Toulousain Ernest-Wallon is multi-puprose but mainly a RU ground. 

Having said all that, the Salford RD would find it an ideal size, although perhaps a little large. 

[Fabou]

12 hours ago, Evil Homer said:

Unfortunately this is not really good news at all, the plans have been greatly scaled back from those posted above and the new capacity will only be around 4,000 with little prospect for expansion. If they make Super League the ground will not be close to adequate and they will have to play elsewhere.

Here are the actual plans:

http://www.rugbyforumxiii.com/forum/download/file.php?id=70378

http://www.rugbyforumxiii.com/forum/download/file.php?id=70379

For any Super League matches to be played at Arnaune they will either have to build a very large stand in the small area behind the goal, or pretty much just knock the whole thing down and start again. What is being built now is essentially a training base and a home ground for TO Broncos rather than a SL venue.

Well i get your Point but if you Think about it, the TO has not more than 1000 regular fans.

[Mattrhino]

6 minutes ago, Fabou said:

Well i get your Point but if you Think about it, the TO has not more than 1000 regular fans.

But what did Catalan/St.Esteeve get in Elite 1 ? Wasn't much more.

I still think we should put Toulouse in SL with this new facility with a view to expand. What is better a brand new 5,000 stadium or a crumbling shed that fits 9,000 like Cas or Wakey.

[Mattrhino]

I don't think some temporary tribunes would be too hard to put in to boost capacity.

[Fabou]

5 hours ago, Mattrhino said:

But what did Catalan/St.Esteeve get in Elite 1 ? Wasn't much more.

I still think we should put Toulouse in SL with this new facility with a view to expand. What is better a brand new 5,000 stadium or a crumbling shed that fits 9,000 like Cas or Wakey.

you are right. I was just giving a Point to make people understand that investing public Money for a 10000 seats stadium for a club that struggle to get 1000 fans was hard to negotiate. no doubt that the potential of the club will be the same as the catalan IF the club reaches SL and manage to stay there... (so it is a big IF)

[audois]

You got the feel that the local objectors wanted a quiet life and were against any real increase in capacity for the ground. Some had hoped for double what is now expected. I'm not quite sure of the status of Stade Ernest Wallon but Arnaune, Colomieres XV (11,000) and The Stadium (33,000) are I believe municipal faciilities. All of these grounds have staged rugby league games in recent times. This available/flexibility is decisive IMO to any TOXIII application to join the SL. Worth remembering the issues the Dragons faced too in year one back in 2006; they played Hull FC and Salford in Narbonne in front of 4,000 and less than that against Saints at Canet Village.

[Fabou]

1 hour ago, audois said:

You got the feel that the local objectors wanted a quiet life and were against any real increase in capacity for the ground. Some had hoped for double what is now expected. I'm not quite sure of the status of Stade Ernest Wallon but Arnaune, Colomieres XV (11,000) and The Stadium (33,000) are I believe municipal faciilities. All of these grounds have staged rugby league games in recent times. This available/flexibility is decisive IMO to any TOXIII application to join the SL. Worth remembering the issues the Dragons faced too in year one back in 2006; they played Hull FC and Salford in Narbonne in front of 4,000 and less than that against Saints at Canet Village.

 

 

 

Ernest wallon is not municipal facilities. I vote for the Stadium.

 

[DoubleD]

16 minutes ago, Fabou said:

Ernest wallon is not municipal facilities. I vote for the Stadium.

 

I think they'd need to extend it though, for when Hull KR visit

[Leyther_Matt]

9 hours ago, Fabou said:

Well i get your Point but if you Think about it, the TO has not more than 1000 regular fans.

Surely they'd expect much better than that with a return to Minimes given a 2,154 average in 2017 playing at Blagnac, which presumably puts off a few potential fans given it's a bus journey out of city centre rather than tram or subway?

[langpark]

A real shame, all that time and money for a 4000-capacity stadium, what's the point!?

If they are serious about playing in Super League and hosting international matches etc, it should have been a 10k minimum.