Stade Velodrome
Opened in 1937, the Stade Velodrome, or Orange Velodrome as it is known for sponsorship reasons, has been home to Ligue 1 team Marseille ever since. It currently has a capacity of 67,000 and was originally built to host the 1938 World Cup games. It replaced Marseille’s original home of Stade L'Huveaune when it became too small.
During the 1938 World Cup, it was used for two games – a first-round match and then the Italy vs Brazil semi-final. As you may have guessed from the name, it originally had a cycling track and a running track around the pitch. Although the stadium has remained unchanged for most of its history, these tracks were gradually taken away as the stands needed to be expanded.
The venue first had some refurbishment work conducted for the Euro 1984 championship and was almost completely rebuilt in the 1998 FIFA World Cup lead-up. This is when it got its recognisable round-shaped spectator stands. It is also when its capacity was expanded to around 60,000.
