The stadium hosting Sunday's NFL game in Paris has seen much sporting drama but also a terror attack

PARIS (AP) — Stade de France has seen many sporting triumphs since its inauguration in 1998 but the stadium also witnessed one of the nation's darkest days.

On Sunday the Pittsburgh Steelers face the New Orleans Saints in an NFL match at the 80,000-capacity stadium in the suburb of Saint-Denis, around a short train ride from the city center.

Zinedine Zidane scored the only goal as France beat Spain in a friendly match in January '98 to mark the opening of a gleaming national stadium, something which was commonplace in other countries but which France was crying out for. It was used as the centerpiece of hosting the World Cup that year.

There were huge celebrations a few months later when Zidane's two goals against Brazil led Les Bleus to their first World Cup triumph.

Fast forward to a sombre November night in 2015.

Tens of thousands of fans are gripped by fear after bombs explode outside the stadium early into France's friendly against Germany. As mass confusion reigns as to what is happening outside the stadium — and, terrifyingly — in several places across Paris, fans are stuck inside the stadium for hours. Both soccer teams stay in the same dressing room until it's finally safe to leave.

The November 13 terror attacks began at Stade de France and spread across the city in assaults that killed 132 people and injured over 400. One person died and least 14 were injured outside the stadium, but casualties could have been far heavier without the actions of a quick-thinking security guard.

Here are some other key moments in Stade de France's history:

Céline Dion sells out two nights running in June 1999.

The Canadian singer's iconic vocal range thrills fans, and the two nights form part of a live album called “Au Cœur du Stade” (At the heart of the stadium) released that summer.

American rock star Bruce Springsteen has also performed at the stadium, as did Beyoncé & Jay-Z in 2018 on July 14 — which is Bastille Day, France's national day.

In 2019, it was the turn of K-pop sensation BTS and they returned this year.

The curtain came down on the successful 2024 Paris Olympics with an extravagant closing ceremony, including a spectacular live entrance from the top of stadium by actor Tom Cruise and performances from rapper Snoop Dogg and Billie Eilish.

Earlier in the closing ceremony, Dion’s love affair with France culminated with her singing Edith Piaf’s “L’hymne à L’amour” (Hymn to Love) from the balcony of the Eiffel Tower.

France was favored to win the 2016 European Championship after beating Germany to reach the final against Portugal, and even more so when Portugal superstar Cristiano Ronaldo was stretchered off with an injury in the first half.

But a nervous France side misses chances and cracked under pressure as Portugal won 1-0 with an extra time goal from substitute Eder.

Fans witnessed the stadium's first world record in track and field in August, 2016 as Olympic champion Ruth Jebet won the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase.

The 19-year-old Jebet, born in Kenya and running for Bahrain, clocked 8 minutes, 52.78 seconds at a Diamond League meet.

The stadium also hosted the 2003 world championships, which saw 110-meter hurdler Allen Johnson, the 1996 Olympic champion, winning his fourth worlds gold medal for the U.S. team.

Riot police fired tear gas and pepper spray at Liverpool supporters forced to endure lengthy waits at the gates for the Champions League final against Real Madrid in May, 2022.

The showpiece game was delayed and kicked off with security struggling with the flow of frustrated supporters trying to get in. Madrid eventually wins the match 1-0, with a goal by Vinícius Júnior.

UEFA claimed there were thousands of ticketless fans trying to gain access, a claim also echoed by Gérald Darmanin, France’s Interior Minster at the time.

But two years later, UEFA reached a confidential settlement to compensate Liverpool fans — who complained of heavy-handed policing — for dangerous chaos, saying that a near “mass fatality catastrophe” was avoided.

Darmanin apologized to Liverpool fans after wrongly blaming them for the chaotic scenes.

Liverpool fans were robbed as they left the stadium and made their way to transport hubs, with no police protection.

Host France didn't get to the 2023 Rugby World Cup final, leaving powerhouses New Zealand and South Africa to battle it out for a record fourth world crown.

New Zealand hopes took a huge blow when Sam Cane became the first player red-carded in a final following a high tackle.

Springboks captain Siya Kolisi and his teammates celebrated long into the night after a gritty 12-11 win.

That day, the Stade de France also became only the second stadium to host a soccer and rugby World Cup final, along with the International Stadium Yokohama in Japan (2002 and 2019).

Saints running back Alvin Kamara wants to make his history with his team.

“I want to win, (then) we'll always have that to brag about, that we won the first American football game played in France,” he said. “You know, we'll be a part of history. We'll say that to the next people who play in Paris, that the Saints won in that stadium.”

Quarterback Tyler Shough has already visited Stade de France, and it left quite an impression on him.

See AP’s full NFL coverage here

FILE - South Africa's Siya Kolisi holds the trophy aloft during the presentation ceremony after the Rugby World Cup final match between New Zealand and South Africa at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, near Paris, France, Oct. 28, 2023. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus, File)

FILE - Tom Cruise is lowered on the Stade de France during the 2024 Summer Olympics closing ceremony, Aug. 11, 2024, in Saint-Denis, France. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko, File)

FILE - Members of the French team celebrate their win against Brazil after the World Cup final on July 12, 1998, at the Stade the France in Saint-Denis, north of Paris, France. Walking the pitch, from left, are Thierry Henry, Laurent Blanc, captain Didier Deschamps, holding the trophy, Bernard Diomede, Marcel Desailly and Alain Boghossian. (AP Photo/Michel Lipchitz, File)

FILE - A police officer directs people outside the Stade de France stadium during the international friendly soccer France against Germany, in Saint Denis, outside of Paris, France, Nov. 13, 2015. (AP Photo/Michel Euler, File)

A general view of the Stade de France with NFL field marking on Thursday, Oct. 22, 2026, in Saint-Denis, north of Paris, ahead of Sunday's game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the New Orleans Saints. (AP Photo/Greg Payan)

An exterior view of the Stade de France with NFL branding on Thursday, Oct. 22, 2026, in Saint-Denis, north of Paris, ahead of Sunday's game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the New Orleans Saints. (AP Photo/Greg Payan)

It's one of baseball’s most iconic records: For 2,632 straight games over 17 seasons, Cal Ripken Jr. never missed a day in the Baltimore Orioles’ lineup.

For the past 28 years, lifelong Orioles fan Rick Taylor has been amassing a collection to match it, trying to gather a ticket from each game of Ripken's “Iron Man” streak, which lasted from 1982 to 1998. After decades of searching, Taylor is just eight tickets short of completing what experts agree is already one of the most impressive collections of baseball tickets ever assembled.

“Did I ever really think I would get this far? No, not really,” said Taylor, a retired 69-year-old food industry salesman who lives outside Baltimore. “But I always said to myself that if I could ever get down to single digits, I think I could do it.”

Taylor's collection now fills 16 boxes in his collectible-filled basement, each ticket individually protected in a hard plastic holder and labeled with its corresponding game number — the physical manifestation of a record that many believe will never be broken.

“The amount of time and the effort to put something together like that is astonishing,” said Mike Provenzale, a production manager at Heritage Auctions, which is not affiliated with Taylor’s collection. “Everyone marvels at Ripken’s record. It’s almost an equal feat of perseverance to put together a collection of that many tickets.”

Taylor's pursuit, though, comes as physical tickets have largely become a thing of the past, with teams shifting toward digital passes and QR codes that offer little of the appeal of an old-fashioned ticket stub.

“It’s devastating,” Taylor said, lamenting that younger collectors will never be able to build similar collections that span the careers of today's stars like Shohei Ohtani or Aaron Judge.

“It would be impossible to put together a run like this today,” said Matt Fuller, head of ticket authentication at PSA, which authenticates and grades collectibles.

Taylor initially had a more modest goal: a ticket from every game in which Ripken hit one of his 431 career home runs. But when a fellow collector asked him if he had thought about expanding the search to encompass the Iron Man streak, Taylor was intrigued: "I said, ‘That would be crazy, but you might have something there.’”

So Taylor began placing ads in The Baltimore Sun, which quickly yielded calls from people offering to sell or trade their tickets to him. As a local, finding a ticket from each home game was relatively easy, Taylor said, even if he had to pay $4,400 in 1999 to win an auction for the jewel of his collection: a May 30, 1982, ticket that marked the first game of Ripken's streak.

The road games have proven much tougher.

Over the years, Taylor has gone to card shows, scoured eBay and even bought the tickets of other Ripken fans who'd given up on their own Iron Man collections. A lively Facebook group called Booger’s Ticket Stubs has also been a big help, as members help each other track down things on their friends' wish lists.

A few years ago, things had slowed to a trickle: 2023 yielded one ticket. 2024, zero. But then he got three in 2025. And this year, amid a renewed push to publicize the collection on social media, Taylor has already gotten five more.

That leaves eight largely uneventful road games from the 1980s still missing: four against the Minnesota Twins, three against the Texas Rangers and one against the Kansas City Royals. Taylor can recite the dates by heart: 6-4-82 in Minnesota. 8-21-82 against the Rangers. 4-25-84 vs. the Royals...

Taylor partially attributes the difficulty in finding the Twins and Rangers tickets to the fact that both teams were mediocre in the mid-80s and did not command large crowds, further increasing their scarcity. He is offering $100 per ticket to garner interest.

“I’m just hoping there are people who see that someone needs those tickets — because they’re out there,” Taylor said.

Fuller, from PSA, agreed: “I have no doubt they’re out there, collecting dust in a desk drawer, a scrapbook or a shoebox.”

The fact that Taylor has already found so many of those obscure tickets is astounding, Provenzale said, recalling the poorly attended Rangers games he used to attend while growing up in the 1980s.

“To find somebody that held on to a ticket like that, it’s jaw-dropping,” Provenzale said.

Taylor is searching for tickets that few thought to save. But for today’s fans, there may soon be no physical tickets at all.

For years now, tickets to sporting events have been largely distributed digitally or via printable PDFs, neither of which has the appeal or style of a ticket on cardstock. Some teams will print out a ticket for a nominal fee. Others have ceased the practice entirely.

Taylor recalled attending an Orioles game last year in which the Dodgers' Ohtani hit two home runs. Knowing some of his friends collect Ohtani tickets, Taylor went to the Orioles' box office to buy 10 bleacher tickets for $35 each. The only problem? Taylor says the Orioles staffers refused to print the tickets, offering only digital tickets instead, something Taylor had no interest in paying for.

“They turned down $350," Taylor said. "They can print the tickets; they just don't want to.”

In a statement, the Orioles defended digital ticketing, citing reduced fraud, better communication with fans and a smoother entry process. The team said it still provides physical tickets in certain circumstances, such as when a minor doesn’t have a cellphone.

Ironically, it’s this shift away from physical tickets that has increased their appeal, Provenzale said. He said the market grew about a decade ago and “exploded” about eight years ago, appealing both to memorabilia collectors, as well as card collectors, who value condition.

If Taylor completes his collection, he says he's going to "sit back for a while and just enjoy it.”

Beyond that, though, he's not sure what to do with it. He and his wife don't have any children, and he said their nieces and nephews aren't especially interested in it. One possibility he'd welcome is for the collection to end up with Ripken himself.

It could also fetch a substantial sum at auction. Provenzale estimated that Taylor's collection, if completed, could command in the “high five figures,” and potentially more than $100,000, especially because of the “story” it tells.

“If somebody got a ticket to every game Ken Griffey Jr. played, that would be impressive, too, but the Ripken collection has something a little bit extra because of that consecutive games record," Provenzale said. “It adds a purpose to the collection.”

But even if Taylor finds the last eight tickets, the hunt wouldn't necessarily be over. In the collecting world, there's a hierarchy: Full tickets are more desirable than ticket stubs. Ones issued by the box office are better than ones from Ticketmaster. And none are more valuable than the oversized, elaborately designed tickets issued to season ticket holders. In other words, there are always ways to improve the collection.

“It's never-ending,” Taylor said with a laugh.

Baltimore Orioles fan Rick Taylor holds two newly-acquired tickets to add to his collection of tickets from almost every baseball game of Cal Ripken Jr.'s 2,632 game "Iron Man" streak, at his home in Reisterstown, Md., Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Baltimore Orioles fan Rick Taylor thumbs through his collection of tickets from almost every baseball game of Cal Ripken Jr.'s 2,632 game "Iron Man" streak, at his home in Reisterstown, Md., Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Baltimore Orioles fan Rick Taylor shows the log that he uses to track his progress in collecting tickets from every game of Cal Ripken Jr.'s 2,632 game "Iron Man" streak, at his home in Reisterstown, Md., Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Baltimore Orioles fan Rick Taylor holds a ticket from the first baseball game of Cal Ripken Jr.'s 2,632 game "Iron Man" streak, at his home in Reisterstown, Md., Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Baltimore Orioles fan Rick Taylor looks through his collection of tickets from almost every baseball game of Cal Ripken Jr.'s 2,632 game "Iron Man" streak, at his home in Reisterstown, Md., Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)