Helmond sports center construction to begin

Article by Coliseum, published October 21, 2019

Image: MoederscheimMoonen / FaulknerBrowns / CULD

Come November, and the construction of a new sports center at Helmond – Sportpark De Braak – in The Netherlands will begin. It is scheduled to open in 2023. The old stadium will be demolished.

Planning for the construction of a new facility for Helmond Sport – the Dutch football club – as well as the sports and education campus at its site has been going on for quite some time now.

City municipals are exulting over the project. Alderman Harrie van Dijk commented, “Yes, it’s really time […] it will be a place where people can work together on the future of Helmond Sport.”

The whole idea is to build a mixed-use facility and not just a stadium – an entire campus and school, with the stadium in its center. The plan is to make it the nerve center for education, sports and recreation.

Alderman van Dijk informed that the first match on the field will, in all likelihood, be played in 2023 and not, as originally planned in 2024.

The stadium will be built at the site of the multiuse venue Lavans Stadion in The Netherlands which was opened way back in 1967.

Remarked an overjoyed Paul Metzemaekers, Rector of Ons Middelbaar Onderwijs in Helmond, “The Helmond Sport players will come to help children at the practical school, the initiative that is called ‘learning together with Helmond Sport’, it will be something great, and that will be great fun.”

A floor space of 11,000 m2 in total is expected. Both long sides of the stadium will house the non-football uses. As per the plan, the west side is expected to comprise educational facilities, aside from Helmond Sport’s offices. The opposite straight would consist of an attached sports hall accompanied by gyms and physiotherapy facilities. Two local amateur football teams would also benefit from the floor space.

The whole plan has been laid out with focus on pedestrian and bicycle connections, encouraging people to wander around and even on top. The east stand will enjoy a green plinth accessible to all and sundry. Major part of the roof will be covered with grass to provide natural insulation and absorb rainwater, while protecting the complex from overheating.

Initially, the stadium’s auditorium is expected to house 4,500 people. Should the need arise, there is room for expansion.

Earlier, the Municipality of Helmond in The Netherlands and the association of secondary schools, Ons Middelbaar Onderwijs, had announced the architects that will design the multifunctional sports facility and outdoor activity area to form part of the De Braak campus, following a European tender procedure, according to media reports.

A consortium of architects including MoederscheimMoonen Architects, FaulknerBrowns Architects and CULD has been chosen for their distinctive design vision, in which buildings and surrounding landscape merge into one instantly recognizable and green icon.

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