Stade Rades, officially named Stade Olympique de Radès, is a multi-purpose stadium located in Rades, Tunisia. It is used mostly for association football matches, hosting the home games of Tunisian clubs Club Africain and ES Tunis, amongst others.
Opened on 7 July 2001 with an exhibition match between Tunisia and France, it replaced the older Stade El Menzah, which had a seating capacity of 45,000. The seating capacity of the new stadium is currently set at 60,000. The stadium was designed by architect Olivier-Clément Cacoub and had a construction cost estimated at 170 million Tunisian dinars.
A CAF category four stadium and one of the biggest stadiums by capacity in Africa, Stade Rades has hosted several key matches of the CAF Champions League and the CAF Confederation Cup, including multiple finals. It was also the main venue for the 2004 African Cup of Nations, including the final, as well as the 2001 Mediterranean Games. By its fifteenth birthday, Stade Olympique de Radès had welcomed more than 15 million spectators. The stadium is one of the potential venues for the 2030 FIFA World Cup, should Tunisia make a bid to host the tournament.
While the previous Rades stadium was also officially named 'Stade Olympique de Radès', both the old and the new stadia are invariably referred to by their unofficial name, Stade Radès. Radès is the name of the neighborhood the stadium was built on, on the border between the parishes of Radès and La Goulette, which itself derives its name from the nearby Mosquée de Radès (Mosque of Radès). This unofficial name caught on soon after the original stadium's construction; the people of Tunis used to simply call it Radès. Therefore, the stadium's common name became 'Stade Radès', which is usually anglicized to 'Stadium of Radès'. This translation, however, could be argued to be inaccurate, since Radès refers not to a specific translation but to the original address of the stadium: Rue de Radès ('Road of Radès').
The Stade Radès is a multi-purpose stadium in Radès, Tunisia about 10 kilometers south-east of the city center of Tunis, in the center of the Olympic City. It is currently used mostly for football matches and it also has facilities for athletics. The stadium holds 60,000 and was built in 2001 for the 2001 Mediterranean Games and is considered to be one of the best stadiums in Africa. The stadium was built for the 2001 Mediterranean Games, the 60,000-seat covered area covers 13,000 m2 and consists of a central area, 3 adjoining grounds, 2 warm-up rooms, 2 paintings and an official stand of 7,000 seats. The press gallery is equipped with 300 desks.
Above the bleachers, the part that covers the steel roof forms a circular arc, the central part is an opening that allows the grass of the stadium to benefit from natural lighting and good ventilation. The outer cover is composed of aluminum and the inner cover is made of laminated wood. The evacuation can be done in 6 minutes. The stadium has 240 toilets, 69 locker rooms, a fitness room and a luxury VIP room. It has a parking capacity of 3,000 cars and 40 buses.
The Stade Radès is used by the Tunisian national team and the Club Africain, Espérance Sportive de Tunis and Étoile Sportive du Sahel. This stadium has hosted matches of the Africa Cup of Nations in 2004, the final of the CAF Champions League and the CAF Confederation Cup several times, the final of the 2010 CAF Champions League, the 2011 CAF Champions League, the 2012 CAF Champions League and the 2013 CAF Champions League.
An ideal location, offering excellent accessibility and ample space for future growth, was found in the southern part of the Tunis district. Being situated on the boundary of the Rades and Tunis neighborhoods, the new stadium was initially referred to as 'Stade de Tunis'.
The club's primary aim was always to own both the stadium and the surrounding lands, although initially a lease was made on the municipal lands, with the final purchase only taking place in 2001. The designs for the sports complex were drafted as early as the late 1990s by a team of architects, some of whom were former players of the club.
Under the guidance of the club's president, the members dealt with a raised fee to support the construction costs of the new stadium, made substantial donations, and some even offered their labor on the construction site during holidays or weekends. There was even a 'cement campaign', where significant quantities of cement bags were donated to the club.
The construction officially commenced on 6 February 1999. Less than three years later, and at a cost of 170 million Tunisian dinars, on 7 July 2001, a crowd of 60,000 filled the stadium for the opening match against the national teams of Tunisia and France.
'Stade Olympique de Radès (2001)' (in French). Club Africain. Archived from the original on 30 August 2017. Retrieved 7 February 2015.
'Stade Radès (The Colosseum) – until 2003'. StadiumDB.com. Retrieved 7 February 2015.
La lumière ne s'éteint pas, Prefácio, Prime Books, 2003 (ISBN 972-8820-07-0)
Club Africain 100 glorious years - History 1, Edição e Conteúdos, S.A., 2003 (ISBN 989-554-099-X)
Club Africain 100 glorious years - History 1, pp.84, Edição e Conteúdos, S.A., 2003 (ISBN 989-554-099-X)
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