Emmanuel Grégoire ‘to restart’ PSG talks on Parc des Princes, seeks decision by end of summer | OneFootball

Newly elected Paris mayor Emmanuel Grégoire signalled support for a tightly controlled sale of the Parc des Princes to PSG and urged swift progress on the stadium’s future.

“I first want to restart discussions very quickly, via an exceptional Paris Council that I will convene for mid-April. We agreed with PSG’s shareholder that we want to close the discussions by the end of the summer at the latest, because you have to set ambitious timelines. I hope we can shake on it by the summer.” He was speaking to franceinfo.

Talks between City Hall, which owns the ground, and PSG have been frozen since former mayor Anne Hidalgo refused to sell, with parts of her majority, including Greens, firmly against disposing of a protected landmark.

In response, PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaïfi floated a move to Massy or Poissy last year. The reigning European champions say a large, club-owned stadium is vital to their growth, want to buy the venue to expand it, and will not invest without ownership.

“I want a mandate, because it is not the mayor who decides, ultimately it is the Paris Council that decides this. We have a huge emotional attachment to our club and we want it to stay in Paris, so we want to bring together the conditions for it to stay.”

“Personally, I have said that I am in favour of a sale, also because I consider that public money should not pay for a professional football ground.” He wants any sale sum directed to new and maintained sports facilities and added green spaces.

Grégoire will put two options to the Council, a long-term lease or a strictly regulated sale with heritage safeguards and a city buy-back right. PSG’s current emphyteutic lease runs until 2044.

Source: Le Progres