PARIS — When Alvin Kamara mentioned where the New Orleans Saints were playing in Paris the other day, the few people with him responded the same way. They told him that Stade de France was the country’s nicest stadium.
“I’m definitely excited for the scenery and to be a part of it,” Kamara said. “It’s the first NFL game being played in France.”
One step onto the grounds of the massive 81,338-seat stadium makes it clear why Stade de France was so highly recommended. Opened in 1998, the all-purpose facility still looks modern enough — but carries a rich history that has hosted some of the country’s most iconic events.
From France winning the 1998 FIFA World Cup to a dramatic 2007 Rugby World Cup to serving as a main hub of the 2024 Paris Olympics, Stade de France has become an integral part of Paris, much like the Caesars Superdome is to New Orleans.
Now, the Saints will also be part of the history. But for the game to happen, France’s iconic stadium had to be tailored to the precise setup that has made the NFL a well-oiled machine over the years.
Details, big and small, have to be just right.
“It’s always going to have challenges whenever you have an American sport in a European stadium,” said Jon Barker, the NFL’s global head of major events and international games. “There’s going to be things that we have to do. We have to change the field. We have to change the locker rooms. We have to change some of our camera platforms. … But we’re in great shape today.
“If you want to play this game tomorrow, let’s go.”
By now, the NFL has become more than equipped to handle the necessary work. France is the ninth non-U.S. country to host an NFL game, the latest part of an international slate that began in 2007. Some venues have held up better than others.
The field tends to get the most scrutiny. This season alone, the playing surface in Brazil for Week 3’s game between the Dallas Cowboys and Baltimore Ravens became a major talking point after comments from a local soccer star torched the conditions in the lead-up to the contest. The league also once moved a game from Mexico City in 2018 because of the field’s poor quality.
In Paris, NFL field director Nick Pappas expressed confidence Thursday that Stade de France’s field would be up to standard. But work, as always, had to be done. Because the stadium typically hosts soccer matches, the league has had to re-stitch the grass to better suit NFL players.
There needs to be stability and traction, Pappas said.
“There are different attributes that are needed for a soccer-specific field versus an NFL-specific field,” he said. “A lot of that is due to soccer is very much a ball on the ground sport, right? So the planarity and smoothness of how a ball rolls on the soccer pitch is critical to their gameplay. … Our athletes are typically larger, typically faster, applying more force to the ground.
“Getting that footing is really imperative,” he added.
Other areas that Pappas and his team have had to alter and monitor include accounting for rain in this week’s forecast, as well as covering up the nine-lane athletic track that circles the field.
The stadium was also altered in a lot of other ways. Locker rooms have been expanded, capable of holding the size of an NFL roster. The eighth floor of the stadium, once a hospitality area, has been converted to have coaches’ booths, an instant reply area and other operations.
Some fixes are temporary. The booths will be removed after the event, so the hospitality area can be restored.
But the cables and channels that the league’s operations installed — so that coaches and other staff can talk to each other during the game — will be left installed.
That will make it easier for if — and more like, when — the NFL comes back to Paris.
“We’re not just here to play a game and then leave,” Barker said. “This is a long-term investment for us. This is a very important market for us. We’re opening offices here and our plan is to play many, many games in France. So we’re looking forward to the first one.”
