PSG: 1 - Liverpool: 0. Paris Saint-Germain's penalty shoot-out victory sent the Anfield stadium into raptures on Tuesday night. As well as being delighted to have eliminated this legendary club, the Paris Saint-Germain players can also take pride in having dominate the Reds on the same score, and in a particular ranking: that of the number of rooms in their respective stadiums. Parc des Princes: 1 - Anfield: 0.
In fact, since the start of the season in September, the Paris stadium has had a Novotel room perched in the stands with the brutalist charm of the 70s. Unlike the Captain's Suite installed by Marriott in one of the boxes at Old Trafford, Manchester United's stadium, this one was built from scratch, right at the top of the stands. Designed for the experiences offered to members of Accor's ALL programme, the suite offers everything needed to welcome them in the best possible conditions: queen-size bed, minibar, large-screen television, bathrobes, plus a terrace with a privileged view of the pitch. And as an added bonus, a butler service to make your stay unique.
By contrast, the Anfield stadium has not yet succumbed to a well-established trend across the Channel, that of combining football and the hotel business. Of course, some establishments do not hesitate to play up their proximity to the Reds' home ground, such as The Anfield Hotel, a 20-room boutique hotel set up in a late 19th-century police station.e century or, just next door, the 23 Hotel Anfield. But nothing like what's in the pipeline not far away or elsewhere. Still in Liverpool, for example, the city's other club, Everton, will be moving to a new stadium along the Mersey next season, as part of the revitalisation of the Bramley-Moore dock. As part of this, last year the city council gave the go-ahead for the redevelopment of a former mill located a stone's throw from the entrance gates to the future Everton Stadium, to be converted into an 80-room hotel.
Higher, louder: another of the English Premier League's biggest stars, Manchester City, is set to kick off a project of even greater scale. Its Etihad Campus, which encompasses the Citizens' stadium as well as England's largest arena, Co-op Live, is set to house a 401-room and suite Radisson Blu hotel, including a luxury penthouse suite. Part of the North Stand expansion plan, the hotel, named The Medlock after the river running beneath the stadium, is expected to open in late 2026 and will offer a rooftop promenade overlooking the pitch, in addition to the 14 meeting and event spaces offered by the Etihad Stadium. "We look forward to working with Radisson on the opening of the hotel and this year-round sports and entertainment destination" Roel de Vries, chief operating officer of City Football Group, said.
Straight to the point for MICE
The tactic behind this one-two punch between sport and the hotel industry is clear: to be able to play on a business 365 days a year, and no longer on revenues limited to thirty or so matches or concerts. In addition to the fans on the days of these events, business travellers are the first to be targeted. The Radisson Blu The Medlock is not only a top-of-the-range hotel for visiting football fans looking for an original business stay, but also, and above all, for business groups. With its many event venues, a stadium is a perfect playground for conventions and seminars, with unique incentive activities, VIP tours of the stadium and changing rooms, fun games, or even gala dinners and cocktails on the pitch, during professional breaks in play.
This trend across the Channel towards stadium hotels can also satisfy the most reluctant of football professionals. After all, these establishments can also provide convenient stopping-off points in secondary towns with less developed hotel facilities, such as the Holiday Inn in the Norwich City stadium or the DoubleTree by Hilton in the Milton Keynes and Coventry stadiums. Among all these brands, one group stands out, Radisson, with "a growing portfolio of stadium-based properties in the UK" Elie Younes, global development director at Radisson Hotel Group, describes.
While waiting for the Radisson Blu The Medlock at the Etihad Stadium, the Blackpool Football Club Stadium Hotel has already been a member of the Radisson Individuals collection since 2022 and was joined last summer by the opening of another Radisson Individuals at the Bolton club's stadium. In recent days, the group has also announced its selection, by Oxford United Football Club, to be part of its future stadium. One of the most environmentally ambitious stadiums in the country, powered by solar panels, it will feature a 1,000-person conference centre and a 180-room Radisson hotel.
But the group is not only involved in football venues. In Birmingham, the historic Edgbaston Cricket Ground has embarked on an extensive transformation plan, and on completion will house a 146-room Radisson RED lifestyle hotel, 85 of which will have balconies overlooking the ground. Similarly, as the Six Nations Tournament draws to a close, fans have been able to stay at another of the Group's hotels in the " Temple of rugby" Twickenham Stadium. Initially operating under the Radisson Individuals banner, this 150-room hotel will shortly be rebranded under the Radisson RED brand once the rooms and public areas have been given a contemporary makeover.
For this hotel is nothing new, having been affiliated to the Marriott chain when it debuted in 2009. As in football, it's also about transfer, or rather conversion to use the term used in the hotel world. At Sheffield's Bramall Lane stadium, the Copthorne hotel, which opened in 2008 but has been closed since 2020, has passed into the hands of the DoubleTree by Hilton brand ahead of this season, with a redesigned 155-room establishment and event spaces for up to 300 people.
In London, the former Millenium & Copthorne hotel adjacent to Chelsea's Stamford Bridge stadium has changed hands as part of a partnership between the prestigious London club and the Singaporean group Ascott. Instead of these long-stay brands, the hotelier has chosen to incorporate its contemporary lyf brand, the lifestyle that goes well with this sporting universe. As well as events linked to the club on match days and offers for members of the ASR loyalty programme, the hotel will be able to count on corporate clients and conventions to keep it going all year round.
England may be a pioneer in combining football and hospitality, but it does not have the monopoly. Forever first: Le Havre Athletic Club, the oldest French club founded in 1872, was also the first in France to offer a hotel in its stands, in 2018. Is this a subliminal link with the other side of the Channel when the club wears the sky blue and navy blue colours of Cambridge and Oxford universities on its shirt? In any case, its Océane stadium is home to the 1872 Stadium Hotel, offering 20 rooms with a view of the playing field, while the stadium contains a number of venues dedicated to corporate events, with a 179-person auditorium and a capacity ranging from 10 to 1,500 people for receptions.
The only other example in France at the moment is Lyon, which has two hotels with a sporting flavour, not integrated into the stands, but direct neighbours of the city's two major stadiums The Groupama Stadium in Décines, for football, and the rugby stadium in the Gerland district. The latter, owned by GL Events like the stadium and the LOU club, opened in the run-up to the World Cup in 2023. Appropriately named The Ruck Hotel, it had the honour of welcoming the All Blacks to its 134 rooms decorated with rugby touches, while also offering a coworking space and five seminar rooms for business travellers all year round.
As far as the Olympique Lyonnais stadium is concerned, the Groupama Stadium is part of a vast complex known as OL Vallée, which includes a leisure centre, a brand new arena, restaurants and bars, and, to complete the picture, the OL Valley, a 140-room hotel at the foot of the stadium. With its name referring to the supporters' kops, it was, in 2018, the first-born of the Kopster brand launched by the Lyon-based Lavorel group, this chain having since appeared in the Paris region, near the Porte de Versailles and ColombesIn fact, it's right next to the stadium that hosted the Olympic Games in 1924 and the hockey events last year.
Like OL Vallée, these cities devoted entirely to the god of football and entertainment are shaping the future of major sports clubs. Manchester United has just announced the construction of a new ultra-modern 100,000-person stadium next to its Old Trafford stadium, surrounded by green spaces and leisure areas. A city within a city presented by the Manchester-born architect Norman Foster, who designed the project, as "a place where people can live together in harmony". one of the most exciting in the world today" .
Last year, Tottenham launched the construction of a 29-storey tower next to its stadium to house a hotel in time for Euro 2028. In Italy, the prestigious AC Milan and Inter di Milano were at one stage planning to build their own hotel. move of the San Siro stadium for a new 70,000-seat venue in the San Donato district. But the balance seems to be shifting back in favour of renovating their historic stadium, with a hotel no doubt included in the project.
This momentum is not confined to old Europe. In New York, the direct surroundings of Citi Field, the Mets' baseball stadium, will be at the heart of a vast urban project, Metropolitan Park, including the greening of the site, a Hard Rock Hotel and a conference centre. In Los Angeles, SoFi Stadium, which is preparing to host the football World Cup in 2026 ahead of the 2028 Olympics, last year saw the start of construction on a 300-room hotel adjacent to the Rams American football team's stadium, the Kali Hotel and Rooftop, which will be part of Marriott's Autograph Collection.
In Tokyo, in place of the famous Tsukiji fish market, which will be relocated in 2018, property developer Mitsui Fudosan plans to build a huge complex by the middle of the next decade, including a stadium - for baseball, rugby and American football - as well as a jumbo hotel, MICE facilities and a theatre with a capacity of 1,200 people. What about Paris? In dispute with the Paris City Council, Will PSG ever move out of its beloved Parc des Princes? All bets are off for a new state-of-the-art complex in Saint-Quentin en Yvelines, Massy or the Ris-Orangis racecourse.
