Plans unveiled for renovation King Boudewijn Stadium site
If everything goes to plan Belgium’s national football team the Red Devils will be playing their home games in the Golden Generation Arena from 2022. The Golden Generation Arena will be the new name from the King Boudewijn Stadium once it has been given a thorough revamp. The Golden Generation Arena will also be the home of the annual Ivo Van Damme Memorial athletics meeting, other events such as the Belgian Cup Final and concerts by big international artists.
The plans were unveiled at a press conference held on Tuesday afternoon. The last big renovation of what was originally the Heizel Stadium was ahead of the 2000 European Football Championships that were held in Belgium and The Netherlands.
The plans for the Golden Generation Arena have drawn inspiration from sport stadiums in other other major cities such as Amsterdam, Bilbao, Dortmund, Istanbul, Manchester and Lisbon. If everything runs to plan the Golden Generation Arena should open its doors to the public for the first time in 2022.
An architectural competition will be launched for the renovation. Those taking parting must design a project that will cost between 150 and 200 million euro.
40,000 seats in the new stadium
The Belgian Football Association and the sports events bureau Golazo back the Golden Generation Arena project. The renovation of the King Boudewijn Stadium is much less ambitious than the failed Euro Stadium project.
The stadium will also have a smaller capacity both than what was proposed for Euro Stadium and than is the case at the King Boudewijn Stadium.
"We will reduce the impact on the surround area. The stadium will have a smaller capacity. We aim for 40,000” the Belgian F.A.’s CEO Peter Bossaert told journalists.
Mr Bossaert also stressed that the stadium won’t just be used for football, but also for athletics and other sport. However, “To do this we will need the support of politicians”.