Rugby-French federation drops plans for new stadium

PARIS, Dec 14 (Reuters) - The French rugby federation (FFR) has abandoned plans for a new stadium that was scheduled to open in 2023, president Bernard Laporte said on Wednesday. "The board of directors has validated the final shut-down of the Grand Stade project," Laporte, who was elected on Dec. 3, told reporters. The stadium, which would have been built in Ris-Orangis, some 35 km from central Paris, had an estimated cost of 581 million euros ($619.11 million). France will continue to play most of their home games at the Stade de France, which was inaugurated in 1998 with a friendly soccer game against Spain. ($1 = 0.9384 euros) (Reporting by Julien Pretot; Editing by Ken Ferris)