#INSERT type:image caption:Marseille are unhappy about the rent being demanded for the Stade Velodrome. END#
Marseille mayor Jean-Claude Gaudin has said he believes the city and its football club will soon strike a deal that will enable games to take place at the Stade Velodrome after a rent dispute.
Last week, the club announced that they would play their first home game of the Ligue 1 season at opponents Montpellier's ground after refusing to meet the municipal authority's eight million-euro asking price for the 2014-15 campaign.
After suggesting a compromise deal, Gaudin is negotiating directly with Marseille owner Margarita Louis-Dreyfus and president Vincent Labrune in a bid to reach agreement.
Wiriting on Twitter, he expressed confidence that the situation could be overcome, saying: "A deal will probably be done between now and the end of the week."
Un accord sera probablement trouvé d''ici la fin de semaine avec l' #OM . Je le conclurai avec Margarita Louis-Dreyfus et Vincent Labrune.
- Jean-Claude GAUDIN (@jcgaudin) July 27, 2014
After initially demanding 380,000 euros per game for use of the Velodrome -- which has been extensively refurbished in preparation for Euro 2016 -- Gaudin said he would consider dropping the fixed season fee to five million euros with an additional bonus based on gate receipts and other revenue.