Stade de la Cipalle Velodrome
Paris, Île-de-France, France
Stade de la Cipalle Velodrome, Paris, France — opened Sources disagree: 1896 (as a municipal velodrome, per French Wikipedia), 1894 (per English Wikipedia), or rebuilt for the 1900 Paris Olympics, opening June 1900 (per StadiumDB and Olympics.com). No single date is fully confirmed., 1 rugby league games hosted, home of A shared multi-sport site: Paris Universite Club (rugby union) and Paris-Charenton XIII (rugby league) are both named as current rugby tenants, alongside cycling clubs Paris Cycliste Olympique and Velo-Club des Veterans Parisiens.
Sourcing caveat: The 1984 Europe vs Oceania fixture recorded here was directly re-verified against Rugby League Project's own venue page after an initial research pass could not locate it under several guessed URL slugs; the specific competition this match belonged to could not be confirmed beyond the result itself (Europe 4, Oceania 54, attendance 2,000).
Ground facts
| Opened | Sources disagree: 1896 (as a municipal velodrome, per French Wikipedia), 1894 (per English Wikipedia), or rebuilt for the 1900 Paris Olympics, opening June 1900 (per StadiumDB and Olympics.com). No single date is fully confirmed. (The exact opening date could not be resolved between conflicting sources; most likely it began as a mid-1890s municipal velodrome and was rebuilt or expanded for the 1900 Olympics.) |
| Home club | A shared multi-sport site: Paris Universite Club (rugby union) and Paris-Charenton XIII (rugby league) are both named as current rugby tenants, alongside cycling clubs Paris Cycliste Olympique and Velo-Club des Veterans Parisiens |
| Games hosted (rugby league, on record) | 1 |
| Top recorded crowd | 2,000 |
| Capacity | 7,151 |
| Floodlights installed | Not confirmed in sources checked |
| Surface | A 500m concrete cycling track, described as the only one in the world made of continuous jointless reinforced concrete, surrounding a central grass rugby/football pitch |
| Years used | 1984 |
| Location | Paris, Île-de-France |
Name history
- Velodrome municipal de Vincennes — from opening (1890s/1900) to 1987
- La Cipale (Stade de la Cipale) — a nickname in continuous informal use alongside the official name, from the early 1900s to the present, derived from "piste municipale"
- Velodrome Jacques-Anquetil — 1987-present, renamed after the death of cyclist Jacques Anquetil
Rugby league history
This historic Paris venue was the main stadium of the 1900 Summer Olympics (hosting cycling, rugby union, football, cricket and gymnastics), a cycling venue again at the 1924 Olympics, and the Tour de France finish line from 1968 to 1974, including all five of Eddy Merckx's Tour wins. Its rugby league connection comes through Paris-Charenton XIII, which uses the site today as a rugby school and training base. Rugby League Project records a single match here, played 14 April 1984: Europe lost 4-54 to Oceania in front of 2,000 fans. The specific competition and squads involved could not be confirmed beyond this result.
Sources
Data last verified: 11 August 2026.
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