Ligue 1 Side Marseille's Stade Velodrome To Be Inaugurated Thursday

The Stade Velodrome, expanded for the Euro 2016, will be "officially inaugurated Thursday after more than three years and €268M ($341.7M) of work," according to the AFP. The Velodrome has "seen its maximum capacity go from 60,000 seats to 67,000" and is "equipped with a huge white 65,000-square meter cover made of Teflon, which now protects the crowd seating." The stadium, inaugurated in '37 with a capacity of 35,000 seats, hosted several matches in the 1938 World Cup. For the 1998 World Cup, the “Vel” increased its capacity to 60,000. The city of Marseille "chose to go through a public-private partnership" to fund the Euro 2016 renovations. The operation was "widely criticized by the Regional Audit Chamber," as it "committed the city to pay €12M a year for 30 years." Since the re-opening of the stadium at the end of August, Ligue 1 side Marseille "has looked untouchable" in league play. The French national football team will play in the new Velodrome in a friendly against Sweden on Nov. 18 (AFP, 10/14).