By Samindra Kunti
October 5 – Belgium’s proposed new Brussels-based stadium for the EURO2020 finals might be in danger after leading club RSC Anderlecht have pulled out of the project.
On September 19, 2014 UEFA selected 13 venues to host Euro2020, a pan-European tournament, which UEFA president Michel Platini coined as a ‘romantic’ one-off to celebrate the 60th birthday of the European Championships. Brussels was chosen ahead of Cardiff to host group matches and a round of 16 match.
With the King Baudouin Stadium outdated, Belgium proposed the ‘Eurostadium’, a state-of-the-art all-seater stadium on the outskirts of Brussels as the venue for EURO2020 with a construction delivery date in 2019. The City of Brussels council proceeded to choose the Ghelamco consortium as the candidate to finance, build and operate the stadium.
The stadium would host matches of Belgium’s national team and RSC Anderlecht, Brussels’s biggest and Belgium’s most decorated club. Club Brugge opposed the Eurostadium, citing disproportional benefits for Anderlecht.
After lengthy negotiations, Anderlecht and Ghelamco reached an agreement over the annual rent fee of the stadium and the way was paved for construction to begin.
Anderlecht have now performed a U-turn, suddenly pulling out of the stadium project. The main reason remains unclear, but the €11 million annual rent fee has always been problematic with Anderlecht’s board.
The club hasn’t indefinitely turned its back on the project, but stated in a press release that “under the current conditions” it no longer wishes to participate.
Anderlecht’s stance leaves all parties involved in a precarious situation. The 33-times Belgian champions can’t expand their current Constant Vanden Stock Stadium, which is located in a residential area. The Belgian FA KBVB want to move away from the King Baudouin Stadium, where a maximisation of revenue is increasingly difficult with the old infrastructure, and the City of Brussels, as European capital, would be severely embarrassed if it ultimately would not be in a position to host EURO2020.
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