Stade Olympique
| File:Sapporo Dome 001.jpeg | |
| Location | Outineau, Kelssek |
|---|---|
| Public transit | File:BSicon SUBWAY.svg Chartris |
| Capacity | 55,317 (seated only) 65,117 (maximum certified) |
| Tenants | CF Outineau |
Stade Olympique is a stadium in Outineau, Kelssek, located adjacent to Parc Chartris in the Maisonneuve arrondissement. It was the venue of the ceremonies and athletics competitions of the 5th Summer Olympics. It is currently used as the home stadium of professional football club CF Outineau. Originally built with a capacity of 68,000, it has adjustable seating that can be reconfigured between football/rugby and athletics configurations and currently has a seating capacity of 55,317 with a standing section of 7,208 in its northwestern corner. It features a fixed dome roof and a retractable grass field.
Originally built as the Stade des Jeux Olympiques in 142 FE, this was long before an Olympic bid for Outineau was actually made and 29 years before the opening ceremony of the eventual 5th Summer Olympics. While built with Olympic ambitions in mind, the stadium’s immediate occupants were professional rugby team Nordiques RFC. However, the stadium was considered to be outdated and too small when Outineau was proposed as a venue for World Cup 46, and this was one of the factors in the decision to construct Stade Outineau to which the Nordiques eventually relocated, leaving the stadium without a permanent tenant. Indeed, despite renovations when it finally came to serve its intended purpose, during the Olympics it was largely regarded as sub-standard and criticized by local journalists.
After the Olympics, the stadium was used sporadically for sports events, and was more often used to host events like pop concerts, monster truck rallies, and motocross races. Kelssek's Olympic trials and national championships in athletics continued to be held at the stadium each year. Nordiques RFC also scheduled early-season Rugby Superleague matches at the stadium due to the risk of snow and cold weather rendering Stade Outineau unplayable. Football team CF Outineau also hosted high-demand matches here, principally against main rivals Kirkenes FC and Langlois Oceanic as well as late-round matches in the Patriotes Cup. Following several years of full capacity at its regular home venue Parc de la Crémazie, Outineau moved all home matches to Stade Olympique from the 72nd KFL season.
International sporting events
In the years after serving as the central venue of the 5th Summer Olympics, the stadium hosted five matches of Rugby World Cup 28 including an eighth-final match which Lisander won 19-10 against Neu Engollon, as well as the 61st Cup Winners' Cup final between Atletik (Mytanija) and Stein-los Turkish (Pasarga) in which the latter team won 1-0.