The Stade Vélodrome, known as the Orange Vélodrome for sponsorship reasons, is a multi-purpose stadium in Marseille, France. It is home to the Olympique de Marseille football club of Ligue 1 since it opened in 1937, and was a venue in the 1998 FIFA World Cup, the 2007 Rugby World Cup and the UEFA Euro 2016.
It is the largest club football ground in France, with a capacity of 67,344 spectators. The stadium is also used regularly by the France national rugby union team.The stadium was also featured as a FIFA World Cup venue when the 1938 finals were held in France. The first-ever match to be played was between Marseille and Torino in 1937.
Like most stadiums in the modern era the Stade Velodrome is built in a bowl style. It still has four stands officially named Tribune Jean Bouin, Tribune Ganay, Virage Sud and Virage Nord. The North and South stands are the ones traditionally occupied by Marseille’s more hardcore fans, whilst away fans are normally housed between the Virage Nord and the Tribune Ganay in the lower tier.
It is called the Zone de Visiteur by the club. There are three tiers to the stands, though the Nord and Sud stands look like one large concourse. It is worth noting that Marseille’s Vélodrome is a multi-purpose arena and despite its associations with football, it also occasionally hosts matches of Rugby Club Toulon and the national rugby team. It was even used as one of the venues of the 2007 Rugby World Cup.
Away fans who make the intimidating trip to Marseille’s backyard are housed within the north-east corner between the Virage Nord goal-end, and the Tribune Ganay which is the eastern grandstand.
The travelling contingent generally occupies the lower-tier which is inherited from the adjacent main stand with the club referring to this section as the Zone de Visiteur.
Marseille is a wonderful city with excellent weather and an exciting outdoor culture. There are numerous bars that take advantage of all of this with pleasant terraces and beer gardens.
Around the stadium there are numerous fast food options such as McDonald’s to the east, subway to the North and numerous Pizza places such as Pizzeria Del Giro and Pizzas La Marseillaise, in addition to more traditional French restaurants.
Parking near to the Stade Velodrome is surprisingly reasonable, with a number of sites close to the ground that will let you park there for just a few Euros.
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