"It’s like playing rugby in a nightclub" - when razzmatazz and rugby collide in Paris

Jacky Lorenzetti, the billionaire owner of Racing 92, knew that a conventional rugby stadium would do little to attract Parisians. So, when he set about finding a home for a club in which he had already invested multiple millions, razzmatazz, rather than rugby, took precedence.

Redeveloping Stade Yves-du-Manoir, the 1924 Olympic stadium in Colombes, in west Paris, which was Racing 92’s home for many years, was never an option, not least as it is off the beaten track and public transport is poor.