At the foot of Fort Carré which dominates the port of Antibes, situated between the C.R.E.P.S., according to specialists in thi domain, the new stadium is reputed to be the most beautiful European base for athletic training.

Situated on the peninsula of Saint-Roch, the Fort is built on a rock over 26 metre above sea level. The winding road raises 43 metres and offers a panaoramic view of 360°. The Fort is surrounded by a 4 hectar protected natural reserve park of typically indiginous mediteranean flora and fauna. The park belongs to the Coastal Reserve and is cited in the Natura 2000 project.

History...
Built under orders from Henri the 2nd, King of France during the second half of the 16th century, the Fort Carré acted as a sentinel to the close border of the county of Nice as well as a defense point for Antibes, the last port before the borderline.
Operational as early as 1585, Fort Carré was attacked for the first time in 1592 by the Duke of Savoy's army.
Much of the Fort was enhanced by Vauban at the the end of the 17th, and it remained a strategic point until the 19th century.
When Nice became a part of France in 1860 and the border between France and Italy was pushed back, the fort became unsuitable for military use and soldiers left it for the more modern barracks built at the foot of Fort Carré.
These same barracks became headquarters to a high level military sport camp directed by the Joinville School staff.
The military handed over Fort Carré, the barracks and the training camp to the Ministry of Sports in 1967.
Volunteers from the Club du Vieux Manoir restored Fort Carré between 1979 and 1985 and was finally purchased by Antibes in 1997 and opened to the public in 1998.

... The stadium...
This stadium was conceived by the architects Copello and Aragon and inaugurated in 1920. The grandstands named the Parc des Princes de Paris were installed in the 30's. The Leonetti municipality ordered them to be demolished when the stadium was closed in 1994 as they were unsafe.
The stadium held many memorable games and huge events in Antibes history (les Antibiades). They were also used by the Regional Center of Physical Instruction, and in 1945 by the military fencing and combat school. In 1967, the military moved to Fontainebleau, and the Regional Sport et Jeunesse Center moved in and used the installation for sailing, sea activities and scuba diving.

... And it's Poilu... (the name given to the French soldiers during the 1st world war)
The backdrop to the stadium is the "Poilu" of Fort Carré, a monument and work of art sculpted by Henri Bouchard who dedicated it to the soldiers who died in battle during the First World War.
More than 22 metres high, this monument is the highest one of it's kind in France. The "poilu" is holding his
weapon on his left side, a politically incorrect mistake that lead to a legend that the seriousness of this erreur supposedly provoked the suicide of the sculpter. Henri Bouchard, who conceived many other works, in reality died in Paris on novembre 30th 1960 et 85 years of age.