Marseille Extend Tenancy Deal at Stade Velodrome

French Ligue 1 team Marseille have agreed a deal to renew their tenancy at the Stade Velodrome, following a dispute over rent payments.

Following the venue’s renovation ahead of the 2016 European Championship, town officials had reportedly sought to raise rent payments to 381,000 euros per match plus a percentage of ticket sales, resulting in an annual payment of between 8million and 10million euros (£6.35m-£8m).

The compromise deal will instead see OM pay 3m euros (£2.4m) for the coming season and 4m (£3.17m) for each of the following two, with additional payments possibly raising their total payment to 7.4m euros (£5.9m) per season.

Club owner Margarita Louis-Dreyfus, quoted by L’Equipe, said: “It’s a great gesture for the supporters and everyone in Marseille.

“Everyone agrees that the place for OM is at the Velodrome, that’s why I’m happy that we found an agreement acceptable to everyone.”

The deal also means Marseille will play their first scheduled home game of the season, against Montpellier on August 17, at the Velodrome. The club had threatened to switch the game to Montpellier.

The stadium has been Marseille’s home since 1937.