By Samindra Kunti
February 20 – RSC Anderlecht have announced that the club will not move to the Eurostadium, dealing another blow to the construction of the EURO 2020 venue.
Anderlecht, Belgium’s most decorated club, had intended to move from their current Constant Vandenstock Stadium to the new stadium in the 2020/21 season, but after due consideration, the club has decided to not pursue that route.
“With what is known, given the current situation and following the environmental effect report and environmental and building permit applications, the Anderlecht’s Board has evaluated the project,” read a press release from the club.
“Anderlecht has serious reservations and has decided that it is not in the interest of the club to participate in the project. Ghelamco (the developer) has been informed.”
The move doesn’t come as a surprise as negotiations between Anderlecht and Ghelamco had been rocky in the last few months. Anderlecht believe the Eurostadium offers too little comfort to their fans and, with a projected capacity of 60,000, may be too big.
According to Ghelamco’s Philippe Neyt Anderlecht can’t legally withdraw from the project as they signed a number of documents in 2015. Neyt added that his company had taken the concerns raised by the club in a letter on board. “Our reading of the letter that we received from RSCA is not that the club is withdrawing from the project,” said Neyt. “Ghelamco meets its commitments and we expect our partners to do the same.”
With Anderlecht pulling out of the project, the future of the Eurostadium remains in doubt, with no projected tenants and a lack of permits. The Belgian FA, the KBVB, had already announced that Belgium’s national team won’t play all their matches at the venue.
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