The Ligue 1 team Olympique de Marseille have struck a new naming rights deal with the bank CEPAC for their home ground – the Stade Vélodrome in Marseille, France.
‘ONEFOOTBALL’ stated that from July 2nd the stadium has been renamed as the CEPAC Vélodrome. It is a positive development taking into account the fact that the top-tier club is facing severe financial hardships.
The Olympique de Marseille, also known simply as Marseille or by the abbreviation OM, is a French professional football club based in Marseille (France) which competes in Ligue 1, the top flight of French football.
The 67,394-seat Stade Vélodrome, known for sponsorship reasons as the CEPAC Vélodrome since July 2026, is a multipurpose stadium in Marseille, France. It serves as the residence of the Olympique de Marseille.
Bank CEPAC, or Caisse d’Épargne CEPAC (Provence-Alpes-Corse), is a prominent regional French cooperative bank headquartered in Marseille, France.
Financial Hardships
‘ONEFOOTBALL’ further stated that the above deal has been reached in the midst of the Olympique de Marseille President Stéphane Richard spending the month of June explaining the club’s tight financial condition to the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and the National Directorate of Management Control (DNCG – the national financial watchdog of France).
Nyon (Switzerland)-based the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) is the governing body of football in Europe consisting of 55 national associations.
CEPAC, Caisse d’Epargne Provence Alpes Corse, has been a club partner for 40 years and signaled interest early last season on a naming rights deal with talks catching pace following Richard’s presentation in April. The shirt sponsor of Olympique de Marseille – CMA CGM – did not evince interest in the naming rights deal and chose to lend its name to the Ligue 1 team Le Havre’s AC’s home ground – the 25,178-capacity Stade Océane in Le Havre, France – instead. This development paved the way for bank CEPAC to land the naming right of the Stade Vélodrome.
Naming Deal
The above naming rights deal runs for at least seven years and brings in more than the previous deal the Olympique de Marseille had with the French telecommunications company Orange. The present deal is estimated at €2.45m a season.
Richard has criticized the current domestic TV rights arrangement which he says leaves the French clubs under fiscal strain and he views sponsorship and naming deals as vital revenue levers.
Club Growth
He sees the CEPAC Vélodrome as vital to the growth of the club and stressed on upgrading the different areas of the venue to enhance the visitor experience and also staging non-sporting events.
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