Royal Antwerp to erect temporary stand

Image: Bosuil Stadium, LemmyButler, CC BY-SA 4.0

Belgian Jupiler Pro League club Royal Antwerp F.C. has unveiled plans to build a temporary 5,000-capacity stand at its Bosuil Stadium.

Euro Football News said the Belgian club, currently enjoying a successful season and sitting second in the league, has applied for a permit to construct the temporary stand in a bid to address capacity issues at the stadium.

The new structure is set to replace the run down Stand2, which has been a source of frustration for both fans and club management and would seat at least 5,000 supporters. It could be ready by the 2025-26 season.

Royal Antwerp Football Club (commonly referred to as Royal Antwerp or simply Antwerp) is a Belgian professional football club based in the city of Antwerp. They compete in the Belgian Pro League, the top flight of Belgian football.

The Bosuil Stadium is an association football stadium in the city of Antwerp, Belgium. The stadium was opened in 1923 and has been the home of Royal Antwerp ever since. It has a capacity of 16,144, of which 800 are indoor VIP seats.

The move to build a temporary stand aims to eliminate the current waiting list of fans eager to attend matches at the stadium.

With the old Stand2 closed for safety reasons for a number of seasons, the club has lost millions of Euros in revenue.

Euro Football News further stated that Antwerp’s resurgence in recent years can be traced back to businessman and club owner Paul Gheysens, who has played a key role in reviving the club after it languished in the second division.

Gheysens spearheaded a major overhaul of the club’s infrastructure, focusing on the redevelopment of Bosuil Stadium. A new main stand and Stand 4 have already been completed, but efforts to fully renovate the stadium hit the buffers when it came to Stand 2.

Ongoing disputes between Gheysens and Tania Mintjens, who owns the stadium land, have meant that progress on redevelopment has stalled.

The club said, however, that it can now move forward with the temporary stand. It said, “This is a significant step in the club’s expansion and its journey towards becoming self-sufficient.”

By adding these extra seats, Antwerp hopes to both enhance the matchday experience and eliminate the waiting list of fans hoping to attend games at Bosuil.

While it’s not the permanent upgrade many supporters might have hoped for, it shows that Antwerp FC is committed to finding practical ways to maximize revenue and meet growing demand in the short term.

With 5,000 new seats available, the club can capitalize on their recent successes on the field and boost matchday income.

It will also prevent the visual and financial drag of having an empty stand in the stadium.

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