Stade Vélodrome
UEFA capacity: 65,000
Record attendance: 59,120
Tenants: Olympique de Marseille
Opened: June 1937

• As its name suggests, the Stade Vélodrome possessed a cycling track when it first opened in 1937, though the new venue's opening ceremony was capped by a football match between Marseille and Italian side Torino FC.

• The stadium has also hosted sports as varied as athletics, rugby, boxing, tennis, hockey and even motorsports, though its days as an all-purpose arena ended when the cycling track was finally removed in 1985.

• The Vélodrome staged matches at the 1938 and 1998 FIFA World Cups, with its capacity increased to 60,000 for the latter tournament; it also hosted games at the 1960 and 1984 UEFA European Championships.

• Located in the south of the city, on the north bank of the Huveaune river, the Vélodrome has regularly been used as a concert venue since the 1980s and has also hosted political rallies.

• Famously open to the elements in the past, the stadium will feature a roof upon completion of the renovation work which began in 2011 at an estimated cost of €267m.

Useful websites
www.arema-velodrome.com/