The Paris La Défense Arena is a multi-use domed stadium that is located in Nanterre, which is a western suburb of Paris. It is one of the two multi-use domed stadiums to be built in Europe, along with Telenor Arena. In Spring 2018, the arena was renamed from U Arena to "Paris La Défense Arena" following a vote by its board of directors. For the 2024 Summer Olympics, in which the arena will host gymnastics events and commercially sponsored names are prohibited, the localorganizing committee is using "Arena 92", a name that had been used early in the venue's planning process. The venue offers three separate configurations. In its rugby configuration, it has a nominal seating capacity of 30,681. For concerts, it is able to seat 40,000. Finally, a movable stand allows it to also be used for a variety of indoor sports, at various capacities, with a capacity of as low as 5,000 being possible. The venue also includes of office space, 300 student rooms, shops, including a club shop, a brewery and a gourmet restaurant. The arena was built by the French rugby union club, Racing 92, and replaced their previous stadium, Stade Olympique Yves-du-Manoir.
History
The stadium was originally planned to open in 2014, but that date was delayed, due to local protests. It eventually opened in October 2017, although Racing 92 did not play their first home game in the new stadium, until they hosted Toulouse, on 22 December 2017. The stadium's working name was changed from "Arena92" to "U Arena"; referencing the configuration of the main stands, and the structure's shape, when viewed from the air, in November 2016. The name was changed a second time to the current Paris La Défense Arena on 12 June 2018. This followed a 10-year naming rights agreement with Paris La Défense, the company that manages the nearby La Défense business district. The venue was originally planned to have a retractable roof, but it was ultimately built with a fixed roof instead. The Rolling Stones were the first band to ever perform a concert in the stadium, closing their Europe-only No Filter Tour, with three shows, on 19, 22, and 25 October 2017. The arena's first rugby union match, took place on 25 November 2017 between France and Japan. On 11 March 2018, the Frenchprofessional basketball clubs Nanterre 92 and ASVEL Basket, played each other in a LNB Pro A2017–18 season game. The game had an attendance of 15,220, which was the highest attendance of any game in the league's history. Since 2017 it has hosted the Paris Motocross.
