Site work begins on Club Brugge's stadium as UEFA bars Lens supporters after Bruges pyrotechnics
Club Brugge takes a first step towards a ground for more than 40,000 fans, while Lens pays for its supporters' fireworks at the Jan Breydel stadium.
The first preparatory works for Club Brugge's new stadium have started on the Olympiasite in Bruges, VRT NWS reports. They include archaeological surveys, a check of ground stability and connections to water and electricity. The first stone is due to be laid in early 2027. The stadium will hold more than 40,000 spectators. Club is still waiting for a long-lease agreement with the city, which Mayor Dirk De Fauw (CD&V) says will go to the city council in November.
The project has dragged on for almost twenty years. In July, the Council for Permit Disputes rejected the last objections from local residents to the environmental permit, Sporza reported at the time. Home matches at the Jan Breydel stadium, such as Club against Anderlecht on 8 November, are not affected by the works.
Meanwhile, last week's Champions League match against RC Lens has had consequences. Club won 3-0, but flares and smoke bombs went off en masse in the away section and the referee briefly halted play, Voetbalkrant wrote. According to Sporza, Lens may now take no supporters to its last two away games in the league phase, in Leipzig and Liverpool, and must pay a fine of 80,000 euros. Lens had already received a suspended sanction after incidents in Prague.