Stade départemental Yves-du-Manoir: a leap back in time

This summer, the Stade Départemental Yves-du-Manoir will join a very select group of venues that have experienced not one but two Olympics. Exactly a century after hosting the 1924 Paris Games, the Colombes-based stadium will once again feel the Olympic thrill by hosting the hockey tournaments.

Like Roger Lebranchu, who at the age of 102 beamed with energy when he lit the cauldron at the foot of Mont Saint-Michel on May 31, it's another fit centenarian who will be hosting events at the Paris 2024 Games! And yes, the Stade Départemental Yves-du-Manoir has been given a facelift to ensure optimal playing conditions for the 24 teams (12 women's, 12 men's) that will be competing on its artificial turf. With an investment of almost 100 million euros, the stadium has been put on Olympic time, as it did 100 years ago when it hosted the opening ceremony, the events and also the very first Olympic village in history. For this XXXIII Olympiad, a brand-new sports complex has been delivered: 2 synthetic pitches for hockey; an Olympic hockey pitch with its historic 6,000-seat stand (which will become a soccer and rugby pitch after the Games); 2 new buildings with administrative and technical premises, changing rooms, meeting rooms, reception rooms and weight rooms; 4 soccer pitches; 3 rugby pitches; 1 new 200-meter athletics oval. These works have given a new lease of life to the arena, which will not only become the home of French hockey, but also an ideal training ground for a variety of sporting activities, just as it was during the first part of the twentieth century.

More responsible Games

The renovation of one of French sport's most legendary stadiums is part of Paris 2024's vision to organize more responsible Games, with the aim of halving its carbon emissions compared to previous editions.
In Colombes, it's the Polytan's turf that catches the eye. Not for its color, but for its technical and sustainable qualities: this is the first low-carbon turf. It is composed of 80% of organic material (from a by-product of sugar cane processing), it avoids the emission of 73 teq (ton equivalent) CO₂ compared to the production of the same surface with traditional turf, while maintaining an optimum level of performance meeting the requirements of the International Hockey Federation.
Last but not least, this turf is also water-efficient, with a water reduction of almost 40% for its maintenance.

But who are you, Yves?

Yves du Manoir, born in 1904, first distinguished himself in the academic field, graduating with a bachelor's degree in elementary mathematics and then entering the École polytechnique. The latter opened the door to a military career in aeronautics, but Yves du Manoir was above all a sportsman at heart. Spotted and recruited in 1923 by the parisian Racing Club de France, he quickly climbed the ranks to join the French national rugby team. A talented, accomplished and popular athlete, he also excelled in swimming and tennis. His versatility and love of sport in general are reminiscent of the history of the Stade de Colombes. Equestrian events, athletics, rugby, soccer, boxing - the stadium, then known as the Stade Olympique de Colombes, has always had a multi-sport vocation, as illustrated not only by the 1924 Olympic Games, but also by the way it was renovated in 2023. Returning to Yves du Manoir, it was under tragic circumstances that the stadium was named after him in 1928. Only 23 years old at the time, he died in a plane crash, provoking a wave of sadness throughout the country. In Colombes, this tribute seems an obvious choice.

Olympic Games, episode two!

Not many sports venues have had the honour of hosting two Olympics. To be exact, the Stade Départemental Yves-du-Manoir will be only the fourth Olympic venue to achieve this feat. The first three are London's Wembley Stadium (1948 and 2012), Tokyo's National Stadium (1964 and 2021) and the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, which will have the privilege of hosting its third Games in 2028 (after 1932 and 1984). Of the 37 Paris 2024 Olympic venues, only the Stade Départemental Yves-du-Manoir will receive this favor.

Forever the first

The second honor that the Stade Départemental Yves-du-Manoir will cherish forever is that it hosted the first Olympic Village in the history of the modern Games. The logistical challenge was brilliantly met, as it was only a year before the start of the competition that the organizing committee learned that it was responsible for housing the 3,000 athletes from 44 different countries. The stadium and village were built in just a few months to plans by architect Louis Faure-Dujarric. The town of Colombes, where the stadium is located, was equipped with the very first Olympic village made up of wooden barracks. Athletes were provided with an ecchange office, a hairdresser, a post office, a newsstand, laundry services, valuables storage and, above all, a canteen serving three meals a day.

And also

• In 1924, the Olympic village adjacent to the Yves-du-Manoir stadium consisted of 66 wooden barracks arranged on a 150 x 60-meter site. But the women were not housed there. They lived separately from the men until the 1956 Melbourne Games.

• In 2024, the stadium's two grandstands will be supplemented by several temporary stands around the pitch. In all, 13,500 people will be able to watch the hockey games simultaneously!

• In 1883, the site's first vocation was equestrian, with the Société des Courses de Colombes operating the 35-hectare site. For almost 20 years, the tracks hosted numerous flat, hurdle and steeplechase races.

• Over the years, the stadium changed its name several times:
  - stade du matin 1907 - 1919
  - stade de Colombes 1919 - 1924
  - stade olympique de Colombes 1924 - 1928
  - stade olympique Yves-du-Manoir 1928 - 2002
  - 2002 - stade départemental Yves-du-Manoir