Excelsior bent on building majestic stadium

Article posted by Coliseum, May 25^th, 2020

Image: MoederscheimMoonen Architects

Football club S.B.V. Excelsior has one of the smallest stadiums in professional Dutch football. But, they are determined in building a majestic stadium which could boost them up to Eredivisie for good.

S.B.V. Excelsior – also known as Excelsior Rotterdam – is a professional football club based in Rotterdam, Netherlands. The Eredivisie is the highest echelon of professional football in the Netherlands.

The Van Donge & De Roo Stadion is a multiuse stadium in Rotterdam, Netherlands. It is currently used mostly for football matches and is the home stadium of Excelsior Rotterdam, as well as for the women’s team Excelsior Barendrecht.

Recently, Excelsior Rotterdam sprung up a surprise for quite a few observers by unlocking the new official stadium scheme. While the city has been talking at length about Feyenoord Rotterdam’s stadium plans for years now, Excelsior hired celebrated architects to reinvent their home.

Feyenoord Rotterdam is a Dutch professional football club in Rotterdam, which plays in the Eredivisie, the top tier in Dutch football.

Excelsior Rotterdam’s need to find additional revenue streams has led to them conceiving the idea of complete reconfiguration in east Rotterdam, having utilized their present ground – Van Dong & De Roo Stadion – to the hilt. More so, the revenue generated out of their present residence is not enough to provide a budget that would consolidate Excelsior’s position in Eredivisie.

Historically, Van Donge & De Roo Stadion is counted among the smallest in professional Dutch football. This is why the whole proposition of expanding the capacity of the stadium from 4,400 to 6,500 seats would be welcomed by all and sundry.

Repurposing of existing stands and construction right from the scratch is being taken into consideration, with the former being given top priority. But, more important than the auditorium per se are the proposed surrounding uses, as drafted by MoederscheimMoonen Architects – an architecture firm in Rotterdam.

The stadium would be accompanied by four residential towers, one in every corner of the ground to emphasize on the overall quality. They would rise to less than 50 meters to remain within local guidelines, offering up to 400 apartments, particularly for singles and pairs. The flats would come in the range of social to expensive.

Additionally, apart from the auditorium, a medical center, fitness center and commercial facilities would come up. The new complex would smoothly connect with the Woudestein sports center in the north and university campus in the east. The university plaza would be extended to reach the stadium.

To date, it is only an idea, even though the city is very much open to it and has welcomed the same. But, by the end of the year, a more detailed plan along with the financial details will have to be presented to the city council.

Excelsior Rotterdam hopes that construction will be able to begin in 2022. The present stadium holds advantage to the plan, as Excelsior owns the same and sits in a very plush area of Rotterdam.

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