June 16 – Brussels’ Eurostadium has suffered another setback after the province of Flemish Brabant refused to issue an environmental permit for the stadium. The due delivery date of the Euro 2020 stadium is now in doubt.
Flemish Brabant cited traffic congestion as the reason to not grant the environmental issue, demanding the intervention of the Flemish government to provide the necessary infrastructure. Ghemlanco, chosen by the council of Brussels to finance, build and operate the stadium, is to appeal against the decision.
The province points to “the multifunctional design of the Eurostadium, with a football stadium, offices, businesses, catering and a large parking space for 11,000 cars, which will be used as a Park & Ride for commuters to Brussels.”
Flemish Brabant wants an agreement between the Flemish government and the project developer to ease the projected impact of the stadium on traffic.
It’s another major setback for the Eurostadium, which throws the timely delivery of the stadium for Euro 2020 in doubt. Previously, the municipality of Grimbergen refused to grant a building permit because of an old neighborhood road on the site. The Flemish government is also refusing to sell land crucial to the construction of the stadium.
Last week the Belgian FA, the KBVB, pointed out that the Eurostadium must be built on the territory of Brussels, and not in Grimbergen. Brussels-based club Anderlecht pulled out of committing to the stadium.
UEFA selected Brussels ahead of Cardiff to host group matches and a round of 16 match during EURO2020. With the King Baudouin Stadium outdated, Belgium proposed the ‘Eurostadium’, a state-of-the-art all-seater stadium on the outskirts of Brussels as the venue for EURO2020 with a construction delivery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. UEFA previously warned that Brussels must meet the delivery deadline of 2019.
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