A PROJECT TO COMPLETELY RENOVATE A STADIUM THAT has BEEN THE SETTING FOR FIVE WORLD RECORDS AND TODAY HOSTS PROFESSIONAL SOCCER PLAYERS AND TRACK AND FIELD ATHLETES, AS WELL AS YOUTH ASSOCIATIONS AND SCHOOl ACTIVITIES: A NEW ARTIFICIAL TURF SOCCER FIELD AND TRACK, NOW WITH SIX LANES — ALL WITH MONDO’S NAME ON THEM.
The Chéron stadium in Saint-Maur-des-Fossés is Val-de-Marne’s definitive sports venue. It plays host not only to the Lusitanos Saint-Maur men’s soccer club, VGA Saint-Maur women’s club and professional runners, but also a large number of youth associations, who use it for their recreational sports (or recreational activities).
Inaugurated in 1922, the stadium was renamed for its creator, Adolphe Chéron, in 1952. It has undergone various modifications, including the installation of a synthetic track in 1974. Today, it features a new artificial turf soccer field and a Sportflex Super X 720 track, which is made from fabricated rubber and has been expanded from four lanes to six. With an expected lifespan of more than 10 years, it can be used seven days a week by professional and amateur athletes as well as for exercise by schoolchildren. Both the soccer field and track were created by Mondo.
The renovation project did have to overcome some construction challenges, however. Until last year, the venue’s size prevented the installation of a six-lane track and the ability to host major national and international competitions—a sore spot for a stadium in which no fewer than five world records had been set over the decades, including in the 3,000 meters, 5,000 meters, 110-meter hurdles and pole vault.
The first Chéron stadium renovation project attracted a great deal of criticism. The expansion of the soccer field at the center of the ring, which had a very tight footprint, caused problems in maintaining the historic track’s six lanes, and forced the designer to convert it to a four-lane track, which prevented it from hosting national and international meets. Our latest renovation, therefore, incorporated peripheral support structures that allowed us to increase the number of running lanes to six. (Olivier Strobel, TECHNI’CITE, head of the Chéron Stadium facilities project)
Because of the stadium’s importance and historic character—and because of its intended use as a venue for professional competitions and amateur and student athletes—the French football and athletics federations granted exemptions so that its soccer field and track could both be approved the governing bodies.
The town has reacquired its sports hub, now completely renovated and ready to welcome thousands of enthusiastic professional and amateur sports fans from all over the region.