Fútbol
The world of football is filled with lesser-known stadiums that are both architectural gems and beautiful arenas. One such example is the Bosuilstadion—a small yet passionate football stadium in a modest Belgian city.
The Bosuilstadion is a classic football arena, with a mix of new-large and old stands, which provides it with its particular style.
In this short text, we will cover the key features of this stadium so that football fans can learn about its football structure and how beautiful things can come in a small package!
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What Is the Bosuilstadion?
The Bosuilstadion is a football stadium in Antwerp, Belgium. It hosts the home matches of Royal Antwerp Football Club, the country’s oldest club, which plays in the first division of the Belgian league. As the oldest team in Belgium, Royal Antwerp, the stadium’s owner, has the matricule number 1 regarding clubs and football stadiums in Belgium. Hence, its nickname, The Great Old.
The Bosuilstadion has over one hundred years of history, as the inauguration took place in 1923.
Since the Bosuilstadion is a small football stadium, it does not host crucial matches, such as semi-finals, finals, or international matches. The last international match in the Bosuilstadion was in 1988 when Belgium faced Brazil.
The Bosuilstadion has undergone several changes and renovations throughout the years, adding three grandstands and several services and amenities to the complex.
Location of the Bosuilstadion
The Bosuilstadion is in Antwerp, north of Belgium, in the district of Deurne. The stadium is five kilometers east of the city center, beside the Germeentepark Bremweide and the N120 highway. As such, the Royal Antwerp FC Arena is easily reachable from most parts of Antwerp.
How to Get to the Bosuilstadion?
The easiest way to the Bosuilstadion is by train. From the city center, take tram 5 in the Antwerp Central Station in the direction of Wim Saerensplein. The trip should take around 23 minutes, and the trains leave every 15 minutes. Just get off the tram at Deurne Antwerp Station.
If you’re visiting the city by car, you can also get to the stadium by this means. Take the E34/E313 motorway and then the Antwerp ring road towards Hasselt to the east. You should take exit 18 Wommelgem and turn to the north on the roundabout. Then, follow the Houtlann north until it crosses with the N120 Merksemsebaan. Here, follow the Merksemsebaan. After 2 kilometers, take the Oude Bosuilbaan to reach the Bosuilstadion.
Bosuilstadion Key Features, Amenities, and Services
Since its further development, the Bosuilstadion boasts new and impressive features that have converted the arena into a modern stadium.
- Address: Oude Bosuilbaan 54 a, 1000 Deurne
- Pitch seizes: 105 x 68 meters
- Capacity: 16,649
The New Tribune 4
This new south stand completely changed the stadium’s appearance, adding 7,500 new places for the club’s fans. The lower tier of the stand hosts 3,800 of these new places. A metal ceiling completely covers the new stand, which protects fans from inclement weather.
This new construction contains many new features and services, which are located behind and beneath the seats.
Training Facilities
The new stand entails impressive new training installations with all kinds of equipment for players to exercise their bodies and warm up. It’s, in a big part, a top-quality gym with treadmills, weights, dumbbells, and all kinds of equipment.
Leisure Zone for Players
But training and warming up are not the only things that matter. Club players also need to relax before an important match. This is the reason why the Bosuilstadion incorporates a leisure area with multiple features, games, and services for players to chill out.
This zone contains big and comfortable sofas, foosball machines, ping-pong tables, pool tables, racing video games, and more that help players relax during the season, which can be crucial when defining a championship.
This wellness zone also combines, together with a training area, baths, saunas, and hammams.
Tribune 2 and Further Plans
Plans are underway to renovate Tribune 2. This new stand will include standing areas, which the crew can convert into seats. Plans also address the renovation of Tribune 3, which involves creating new facilities for families, and Tribune 4.
Once the stadium is finished, it should have a capacity of 23,000 spectators and new, modern facilities to host all kinds of guests. All these changes and renovations will elevate the Bosuilstadion to a higher level.
A Brief History of the Bosuilstadion
In the early 20th century, Antwerp, the city’s official club, played its matches at the Broodstraat Stadium, a small arena that became insufficient for the increasing number of fans. This is the reason why Antwerp decided to build a new stadium, the Bosuilstadion.
The Stadium opened in 1923 with a match between Belgium and England and an initial capacity of 38,000 spectators. In 1956, further renovations increased the capacity to 60,000. During those years, the stadium hosted many international matches between Belgium and the Netherlands, the reason why it named itself “Hell of Deurne.”
Between 1909 and 1959, the best footballers of Antwerp and Rotterdam contested a yearly match. The winner of these matches won the Meuse—and Scheldt Cup (Maas—en Schelde Beker). This match occurred at Antwerp’s Stadium and Sparta Rotterdam’s Het Kasteel Stadium in the Netherlands.
By the end of the 1990s, the club was relegated to the second division again. Since 2004, it has stayed in the second division, facing many financial problems, troubles with its stadium, and bad results.
With Royal returning to the Belgian top flight in 2017, the goal became to reach 20,000 spectators. For this reason, the club planned many renovations to reflect its new status.
First, the old West Stand, which dates back to 1923, had to be replaced with a totally new structure. This new stand has a capacity of 5,362 spectators, almost double that of the previous stand. With the completeness of these works, the idea was to initiate new worlds for the other stands of the stadium.
The club demolished the south stand in July 2019. Due to delays provoked by COVID-19, the constructor finished the reconstruction in 2021.
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