Surviving War and Rising Again
Like the city itself, the stadium’s story is entwined with history’s darker chapters. During the Second World War, Strasbourg was annexed by Germany, and Racing were forced to play under a new name, “Rasensport.”
Even in those difficult years, football found a way to go on – and local pride endured. When peace returned, so did Racing, and so did the crowds. A new grandstand in the 1950s brought capacity to 30,000, and for the first time, some players even lived at the stadium, with apartments built behind the main stand to tackle the city’s housing shortage.
Imagine scoring a winner, then heading upstairs to make dinner.
The Glory Years and Legendary Nights
By the late 1970s, Racing’s rise through the French leagues brought new demands on the aging stadium. A major overhaul began in 1979, transforming the Meinau into one of the most admired grounds in Europe.
When Euro 1984 came to France, Strasbourg played host to West Germany and Portugal in front of nearly 45,000 fans – still the record attendance to this day. The stadium also welcomed European royalty in 1988, when Ajax met Mechelen in the Cup Winners’ Cup Final, with thousands travelling across the continent to see it.
But football hasn’t been the only thing to light up La Meinau. The stadium has witnessed some truly unique moments – Stevie Wonder serenading a packed crowd in 1984, Pink Floyd filling the air with lasers and sound in 1994, and even Pope John Paul II addressing tens of thousands during a visit in 1988.
Juventus' Michel Platini dodges a tackle from F.C. Haka during the 1984 European Cup Winners’ Cup quarter-final at Strasbourg’s Stade de la Meinau, below!
