Palais des sports de Marseille is an event venue on rue Raymond-Teisseire in Marseille, near the Stade Vélodrome. Inaugurated on an unspecified date, it first hosted a sports event with a handball match between France and Austria on its opening day. The venue accommodates a wide range of sports events as well as other types of gatherings.
Its history includes basketball matches for Fos Provence Basket, major boxing and fencing competitions, gymnastics events, handball matches, and tennis tournaments. It has hosted the 2001 men’s handball world championship, several France national handball team matches, the Open 13 Provence since 1993, and a Fed Cup match between France and Italy in 2016. The venue has also been used for volleyball qualifiers, World X-Trial Championship stages, concerts by Barbara, IAM, and Noir Désir, a large political meeting during the 2002 presidential election runoff, and a 1997 theater performance by Badaboum Théâtre.
Nearby Objects
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Cathédrale des Saints-Traducteurs 1000 m away -
Basilique du Sacré-Cœur de Marseille 1700 m away
Location and Use of the Palais des sports
The Palais des sports de Marseille is located on rue Raymond-Teisseire in Marseille, near the Stade Velodrome. It was inaugurated on an unspecified date, and its first sports event took place on the day of the inauguration with a handball match between France and Austria. The venue is designed to accommodate all types of sports events, and it also hosts other kinds of events beyond sport.
Major Sporting Venue and Event Host
The Palais des sports de Marseille has served as a versatile venue for a wide range of national and international sporting events. It has hosted basketball matches for Fos Provence Basket, as well as boxing world championship bouts, including Jean-Marc Mormeck's 2002 WBA cruiserweight title match and Arsen Goulamirian's 2018 WBA cruiserweight title match.
The venue has also been used repeatedly for fencing, including the Challenge Jeanty World Cup event and the French fencing championships in 2009 and 2015. In gymnastics, it has hosted the Elite Gym Massilia event and the Elite Gym Massilia women's artistic gymnastics competition, which has been held there since 1988.
Handball has been another major part of its program. The Palais des sports de Marseille hosted three matches during the 2001 men's handball world championship, along with several France national team matches against Austria, Greece, Poland, Yugoslavia, and Russia. It also hosted OM Vitrolles handball matches in the 1992-1993 and 1995-1996 European Cup Winners' Cup, as well as Istres Provence Handball matches.
The venue has further accommodated tennis, hosting the Open 13 Provence tournament since 1993 and the Fed Cup match between France and Italy in 2016. Other events have included France women's volleyball team matches in the 2010 World Championship European qualifiers and stages of the World X-Trial Championships. These repeated uses show the Palais des sports de Marseille as a significant multi-sport arena in Marseille's sporting life.
Cultural and Political Events
The Palais des sports de Marseille has served as a venue for a range of public events beyond sport. Its history includes concerts by Barbara, IAM, and Noir Desir. It also hosted La Legende Judo, a theater performance by Badaboum Theatre in 1997. In addition, the arena was the site of a large meeting by Jean-Marie Le Pen during the runoff of the 2002 presidential election. These events show the building's role as a major indoor venue for music, theater, and political gatherings.
Metro Access to the Palais des Sports
The Palais des Sports de Marseille is served by line 2 of the Marseille metro via Sainte-Marguerite Dromel station. This provides direct public transport access to the venue and connects it to the wider Marseille metro network. The station serves as the named access point for reaching the Palais des Sports.