FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - Europa League - Olympique Lyonnais v Olympiacos - Groupama Stadium, Lyon, France - September 26, 2024 General view inside the stadium before the match REUTERS/Manon Cruz/File Photo
(Reuters) -The OL stadium, home of French Ligue 1 team Olympique Lyonnais, has been selected to host the 2027 European Rugby Champions Cup and Challenge Cup Finals, organisers European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR) said on Thursday.
The Champions Cup is the top-tier annual club rugby union competition in Europe and the EPCR Challenge Cup is the second-tier competition.
French cities have hosted the Champions Cup final five times, with Lyon welcoming the showpiece matches again after its 2016 debut when Saracens beat Racing 92 to win the Champions Cup and Montpellier edged Harlequins to lift the Challenge Cup.
"EPCR was the first major event organiser to take a chance with OL Stadium, and our terrific team, bringing the finals to our community only four months after the inauguration of our leading European facility," Lyon co-owner John Textor said in a statement.
EPCR chairman Dominic McKay added, "OL Stadium is a world-class venue, and we are proud to be part of its sporting legacy, alongside incredible events such as the 2024 Olympics and 2023 Rugby World Cup."
The 59,186-capacity OL Stadium is powered almost entirely by renewable energy, aided partly by its rooftop solar panels, to minimise its impact on the local energy grid.
(Reporting by Shifa Jahan in Bengaluru; Editing by Ken Ferris)
