Stade des Costieres

Nimes, Occitanie, France

Rugby League: Venues ▾

Stade des Costieres, Nimes, France — opened Very likely NOT the current Stade des Costieres, which opened 15 May 1989 (construction 1987-1989) - 36 years after the recorded 1953 match. The true 1953 venue is not confirmed., 1 rugby league games hosted, home of Nimes Olympique (current Stade des Costieres, 1989-2022); in 1953 Nimes Olympique's home ground was the separate Stade Jean-Bouin.

Sourcing caveat: Treat the venue name and any facility details (capacity, floodlights, surface) with caution: they describe the 1989-built Stade des Costieres, which almost certainly did not exist yet at the time of the recorded 1953 match. The true 1953 ground was very likely Stade Jean-Bouin, but this is an inference by elimination, not a directly sourced fact.

Ground facts

Opened	Very likely NOT the current Stade des Costieres, which opened 15 May 1989 (construction 1987-1989) - 36 years after the recorded 1953 match. The true 1953 venue is not confirmed. (Rugby League Project labels this venue 'Stade des Costieres', but no source found ties that name to any Nimes ground before 1989. In 1953, Nimes's principal stadium was Stade Jean-Bouin (opened 1919, on a different site, demolished 1997), home of Nimes Olympique through that era; by elimination this is the strongest candidate for the true 1953 venue, but no source directly names it as the match site, so this remains an inference rather than a confirmed fact.)
Home club	Nimes Olympique (current Stade des Costieres, 1989-2022); in 1953 Nimes Olympique's home ground was the separate Stade Jean-Bouin
Games hosted (rugby league, on record)	1
Top recorded crowd	3,518
Capacity	18,364 (current all-seated capacity of the 1989 stadium); record attendance there was 23,454 for France vs Greece in 1996
Floodlights installed	Not confirmed for the true 1953 venue; Stade Jean-Bouin, the likely candidate, had floodlights installed in 1962, after the 1953 match
Surface	Grass (current Stade des Costieres, 105m x 68m); surface of the likely true 1953 venue not confirmed
Years used	1953
Location	Nimes, Occitanie

Name history

Stade des Costieres — 1989-present, the current stadium; not confirmed to be the 1953 match venue

Rugby league history

Rugby League Project records one match under this venue name: on 15 January 1953, a France XIII lost 7-39 to the touring Australian Kangaroos in front of 3,518 fans, one of several provincial fixtures that tour played against French regional and representative sides outside the full Test series (which was staged at Bordeaux and Lyon). The attribution to 'Stade des Costieres' is very likely an anachronism, since that stadium was not built until 1989; the actual 1953 venue was almost certainly Nimes's stadium of the day, Stade Jean-Bouin, though no source directly confirms this and it is reported here as a likely correction rather than settled fact.

Sources

Data last verified: 11 August 2026.

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