Reconfiguration of the Stade Vélodrome and the surrounding area: the partnership contract is signed between the city of Marseille and AREMA
Jean-Claude Gaudin, the Mayor of Marseille and Vice President of the French Senate, and Martin Bouygues, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Bouygues Group, representing AREMA (1), today signed the partnership contract for the reconfiguration of the Stade Vélodrome football stadium and the surrounding area.
On 12 July 2010, the Marseille City Council chose AREMA's proposal for the reconfiguration of the Stade Vélodrome and its operation for a period of 35 years.
The signing of the contract launches the phase of obtaining construction authorisations and city planning procedures This will enable AREMA to get the works under way in the second quarter of 2011, as initially scheduled. They will last three years.
Costing a total of 267 million euros, the new stadium will compete with the stadia of the major European metropolises. Designed with sleek lines, it will be a versatile and highly practical facility.
All the stands will be roofed, providing protection against bad weather conditions for all spectators. The stadium, which was built in 1938 and partially reconfigured in 1998, will be entirely modernised and upgraded to comply with international standards, specifically with a view to Euro 2016. The configuration of the stadium will be raised to UEFA 5-star category. Total spectator capacity will be increased from the current level of 58,000 to 67,000, including 6,000 VIP seats. The stadium will remain in operation during the entire period of building works, with space available for up to 42,000 spectators.
The adjoining rugby stadium (the Stade Delort) will also be redesigned, with the creation of a 5,000-seat covered stand. The facility will comply with regulations in force covering national and international matches.
The partnership contract also includes the development of an adjoining 100,000 m² property complex which will comprise offices, a shopping centre, two hotels, a health centre, serviced apartments and housing.
(1) Arema's shareholders are the Caisse des Dépôts, the Caisse d'Epargne Provence-Alpes-Corse, the FIDEPPP, the Infravia fund and GFC Construction and Exprimm, both of which are subsidiaries of Bouygues Construction. The Chairman of Arema is Bruno Botella. Arema also draws on the expertise of SCAU architects (Maxime Barbier, Bernard Cabannes, Luc Delamain, François Gillard, Michel Macary, Aymeric Zublena) and DIDIER ROGEON ARCHITECTE, associate architect, along with the Iosis, Garcia Ingénierie and Beterem Ingénierie engineering offices.