The stadium boasts an 85-year history and has hosted some iconic rugby matches
Where is the 2022 European Champions Cup final?
The 2022 European Champions Cup final will be held at the Stade Velodrome in Marseille.
The venue, which has a capacity of 67,000, is the home of French football club Olympique de Marseille but also has a rich rugby history.
Defined by its spectacular curved stands, it was a host stadium at the 2007 Rugby World Cup and has staged France and Toulon matches.
It will be the fifth different French venue to host the final of Europe’s premier rugby competition, but the first time the event has been held in the city.
Tickets for the 2022 European Champions Cup final are also on general release, to purchase.
The Stade Velodrome’s extraordinary curved roof was completed in 2014 (Getty Images)
The Stade Velodrome was built for the 1938 FIFA World Cup and hosted its first game, a football match between Marseille and Torino, in June 1937.
It has since become a feature of major sporting tournaments held in France, including the 2007 Rugby World Cup, when it hosted six matches.
These included England‘s surprise quarter-final win against Australia and South Africa’s entertaining victory over Fiji at the same stage.
It is down for seven matches at the 2023 Rugby World Cup, with two quarter-finals to be held there.
Outside World Cups, France occasionally turn to the Stade Velodrome when looking to play fixtures away from Paris’ Stade de France.
In the early 2000s, the stadium became something of a fortress, as Les Bleus beat New Zealand, Australia, South Africa and England in it.
However, France have not played at the venue since a 2018 Six Nations encounter with Italy.
At club level, Toulon occasionally use the Velodrome, though not since a match with Toulouse in 2019.
It was the club’s favoured venue for Champions Cup semi-finals during its three successive title-winning seasons, with encounters held there in 2014 and 2015.
The Top 14 semi-final between Clermont Auvergne and Racing 92 was held at the Stade Velodrome in 2017.
Clermont Auvergne played Racing 92 at the Stade Velodrome in the 2017 Top 14 semi-finals (Getty Images)
It has had a series of redevelopments over the decades, with a refurbishment ahead of the 1998 FIFA World Cup creating the curved stands.
The latest refurbishment in 2014 added a remarkable curved roof and modernised the stadium ahead of Euro 2016.
In line with its name, the stadium originally held cycling races, but the gradual expansion of the stands towards the pitch led to the track being removed.
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