City of Brussels chooses BAM-Ghelamco for building new stadium, work to begin next year

The City of Brussels announced on March 19, 2015 the selection of BAM-Ghelamco for the construction of a new stadium in the city, according to a press release by the Board of the City. It said the BAM-Ghelamco consortium was chosen from three candidates for the financing, construction and operation of the new football stadium at the Heysel.

This choice was made after analysis of the award criteria included in the market survey which was launched on 31 March 2014 by the City Council of the City of Brussels, according to the release. The press release, however, asserted that none of the three candidates have been excluded ‘at this stage of procedure’.

The advisory committee was composed of representatives of the City of Brussels, the Brussels Capital Region, the municipality of Grimbergen, residents committees of the City of Brussels and the town of Grimbergen and independent architects and experts.

The criteria for selection included: the feasibility of the implementation of the stadium; the feasibility and quality of the operation of the stadium; the terms of the lease, financial and contractual guarantees; architectural quality and the incorporation of the project in the landscape.

According to the press release, in the redevelopment of the Heysel, the new project takes an essential place with a modern stadium in the vicinity of the Atomium, the Exhibition Palaces (Brussels Expo), a shopping centre, a conference hall of 5,000 seats and a theatre with 15,000 places in Palais 12.

The new football stadium estimated to have over 62,000 seats will be built at Parking C of the current Koning Boudewijn Stadion, which will eventually give way and be transformed into a mixed-use development.

As per the current schedule, the contract will be signed for the construction of the stadium between the City and the selected candidate in late June 2015. Depending on the time required for the issuance of the necessary permits, the construction of the new stadium at parking C will be launched in early 2016.

That year, the European football association UEFA will also choose the host city for the opening match of Euro 2020. The City of Brussels, which is already a host city for the European Football Championship, is a candidate for this opening match.

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