Allianz Riviera

The pitch at the Allianz Riviera was not grown in Nice at all. It came north-west, from a nursery at Ле-Барп near Bordeaux, and arrived as 530 rolls, each 1.20 by 15 metres, to be laid over a bed of volcanic rock, coke slag and nutrients. Beneath that sits a network of pipes that circulates air, drains water and ventilates the root zone — a stadium that treats its grass as a piece of plant.

The ground opened on 22 September 2013 under the working name Grand Stade de Nice . Building had begun in July 2011 and cost 250 million euros. Жан-Мишель Вильмотт, of Wilmotte & Associés SA, led the design; EGIS BÂTIMENT handled the engineering and construction, with Bureau Veritas on technical control.

The opening day did double duty. The same 22 September brought the first football match on the site, a Ligue 1 fixture in which «Ницца» hosted «Валансьен».

«Ницца» play their home matches here.