BordeauxIn 2007 the Chaban-Delmas Stadium, which was renovated and enlarged for the 1998 Soccer World Cup, will be the venue for the third World Cup event in its history.
Named after the city’s Mayor from 1947 to 1995, the stadium was inaugurated on 12 June 1938 at a quarter final match for the Soccer World Cup between Brazil and Czechoslovakia (2-1) under the name of the Lescure Stadium.
The Lescure Stadium’s major architectural novelty was that all of its stands were covered. Its innovative nature - inspired by the neoclassical school – is plain to see in its detail and décor and the stadium earned a listing as one of France’s national monuments.
As a city that has traditionally been a stage in the Tour de France cycle race, it is the cycle sprinters, not their rugby neighb ours, who tend to dominate in Bordeaux. André Darrigade’s numerous victories in the years following World War II are prominent in the town’s records.
While South-West France is a rugby hot bed, soccer players have also gainied acceptance and credibility there, and in 1941 the Bordeaux Girondins soccer team chose Lescure Stadium as its home pitch. In 1950, they won their first French professional championship title there. A the time, hockey matches were also played there, as were boxing bouts.
In 1955 the Lescure Stadium was the venue for the final of the French rugby championship for the first time. By allying itself with its neighbour, Bègles, Bordeaux won two French rugby championship titles; in 1969 and 1991.
It is difficult not to celebrate and enjoy Bordeaux and the surrounding region – the area is world famous for its fine wines: Châteaux-Margaux, Saint-Émilion, Saint-Julien, Saint-Estéphe, Médoc, Graves and many more.
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