the stadium opened for the first time on may 8, 1984, for a friendly game: fc nantes - romania. it was named after louis fonteneau, who was president of fc nantes between 1969-1986. it was renovated in 1998, for the world cup. while its original capacity was 52,923, in 1998, it was converted to an all-seater stadium and its current capacity is 38,128. previously, the team played at stade marcel saupin.