Testimonial: when the Stade Français Paris opens its Maison Rose to companies

The capital's biggest club, with a Jean Bouin stadium refurbished just ten years ago under the leadership of Rudy Ricciottiin a prestigious and strategic geographical area: on paper, the Stade Français Paris has solid arguments to play a leading role in the field of MICE. However, its ambitions have only recently become clearer. Unlike other clubs Stade Français Paris began by conquering titles before really positioning himself in corporate events... Director of Development and Communications, Georges-Henry Bediou explains: "The agreement with the city allowing us to operate the stadium at 100% only dates back to 2019, and then there was the health crisis... Today we welcome 250 events a year".

But in the meantime, the competition has not been idle. Racing, the other club from the Paris region, have moved from the delightfully vintage but frankly ageing Colombes stadium to the ultra-modern Paris La Défense Arena. A venue that has taken versatility to the extreme - to the point of regularly having to relocate rugby players to welcome international rock stars - and that enjoys a strategic location for business customers.

From there to move the Paris derby to the MICE arena ? Not really, according to Georges-Henry Bediou: "As far as the events business is concerned, of course Paris La Défense Arena is a great venue, but there are many others: Bercy, the Stade de France... The competition is not in rugby, but in what the venue brings to the event that the company wants to organise. And each stadium has its own strengths. As far as Jean Bouin is concerned, it's a fairly compact, modular stadium that's very bright and open. What also sets us apart is that Jean Bouin is also our training centre. When companies come here, they get to experience life at a top-level club. It is atypical. What's more, some companies come without any rugby in mind, but fall under the spell of the Jean Bouin stadium."says Georges-Henry Bediou.

A meeting between the company and a club and its stadium can be part of a wider and more lasting relationship, as the Director of Development and Communications explains: "It is a virtuous circle within the BtoB business unit, which brings together the sponsoringthe hospitalityand therefore theBtoB events. Whatever the key to entry, there are a lot of communicating vessels. The company finds out what tools the Stade Français Paris can offer, whether in terms of image, business or internal management. Of course, this virtuous circle translates into monetisation, and that's also how clubs can make a living. All clubs need to work on their model, and that means working with companies. But any relationship with a company is also a link with our region. We have links with companies that are active in the Ile-de-France region. So it's also an opportunity for us to play a part in the local economy."says Georges-Henry Bediou.