Stadium

The stadium is the main environment in TrackMania Nations Forever. It consists of a large, open-air stadium paved with grass, with flags waving on both sides. It has proved to be a quintessential part of the game, as almost all tracks built are built inside it, and some even use the structure itself, such as those in the roof style.

History
The stadium, in its original form, was built around 1870. The stadium was originally built for horse-riding competitions, and it quickly grew popular in France - many people would go to it to bet on the biggest races of the year. In 1876, billboards were added on to increase revenue - in those days, they were painted on.

In 1888, the stadium hosted its largest event, the thirteenth edition of the World Horseracing Derby. It is estimated that over 30,000 people, both from France and from neighboring countries, came to see the spectacle. The event brought in over 2,500,000 francs (equivalent to about 30 million U.S. dollars in today's money), and around this time the French government took direct control over the stadium to gain access to its revenue. The derby would turn out to be the largest event the stadium would host for over 100 years, but it still remained popular amongst locals for many years.

The stadium faltered in the 1930s and 40s due to economic factors and the invasion of France. However, in 1949, the French government began repair works on the stadium, and hosted many events in the 50s and 60s. Although none of these were as popular as the World Horseracing Derby, the stadium still easily brought in thousands of people to see the spectacles put on there. The stadium remained popular for years afterwards, but it again started to lose popularity by the 90s, and the French government closed it in 1997.

It appeared as though the stadium would be demolished, but in 2005, Nadeo asked the French government if they could use the stadium for a game they were developing. As there were very little real plans for the stadium, Nadeo was given permission to use it. Nadeo started renovating the stadium for the purposes of the game. In 2008, this game was revealed to be Trackmania Nations Forever, which turned out to be a massive hit. The stadium has been in use by Nadeo ever since.