Stade Marie-Marvingt, Le Mans, France
The Stade Marie-Marvingt in Le Mans, France is the home ground of Ligue 2 football club Le Mans FC.
The 25,000 capacity stadium replaced the club's former home, the 17,800-capacity Stade Léon-Bollée.
History
The stadium first opened in 2011 and is now named after the multi-talented French athlete, aviator, journalist and mountaineer Marie Marvingt (1875-1963). The ground was first known as the MM Arena.
The impressive arena lies within the Circuit de la Sarthe, home of the 24 Hours of Le Mans race held annually in June. Construction cost €102 million.
The playing surface is natural turf.
Le Mans FC
Founded in 1985 as Le Mans Union Club 72 following a merger of Union Sportive du Mans and Le Mans Sports Club, the team changed its name in 2010. It is nicknamed 'MUC 72' - a reference to its former name.
The club left its former home Stade Léon-Bollée during the 2010-2011 season.
Le Mans first played in Ligue 1 in the 2003-04 season but were immediately relegated, returning for the 2005-06 season and remaining in the top tier for four years before dropping down yet again.
In 2012 the club were relegated to the Championnat National, the third tier of French football. Worse was to follow as rising debts saw the club liquidated and reform as an amateur club.
More recently the team has climbed back from the minor leagues to compete again in Ligue 2 (2025).
Players & Coaches
Some former players at the club include former J.League Kyoto Sanga and Japanese international Daisuke Matsui (2004-2008), aka le soleil du Mans, who helped the club return to Ligue 1 and had an impressive few seasons in the French top flight. Matsui was part of a talented Kyoto Sanga team under inspirational German coach Gert Engels that also included Korean midfielder Park Ji-Sung, who also went on to have a successful career in Europe with PSV Eindhoven and Manchester United.
Former Liverpool and Sunderland forward Anthony Le Tallec played 96 games for the club from 2008 to 2010 scoring 19 times.
Tennis champion Novak Djokovic is now a part-owner of the club.
The club's current coach is Patrick Videira.
Access - Getting There
Le Mans is around 210 km southwest of the French capital, Paris.
TGV trains run from Gare Montparnasse to Le Mans in a little under an hour.
To get to the ground from the station take a T1 tram to the Guetteloup-Pôle Santé Sud stop and walk about 10 minutes.
Address: Chemin aux Bœufs, 72100 Le Mans, France
Nearby Hotels
Le Mans has numerous of hotels to choose from thanks to the famous Le Mans 24 Hour Race held in the city since 1923. Some recommendations include the Campanile Le Mans Centre - Gare or try the more upmarket, 4-star Hotel Mercure Le Mans Centre.
See a list of hotels in Le Mans.
All photos by Ross Clegg
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