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 Interactive map of De Grolsch Veste | |
| Full name | De Grolsch Veste |
|---|---|
| Former names | Arke Stadion (1998–2008) |
| Location | Colosseum 65 7521 PPEnschede Netherlands |
| Coordinates | 52°14′12″N6°50′15″E / 52.23667°N 6.83750°E /52.23667; 6.83750 |
| Owner | Twente |
| Operator | Twente |
| Capacity | 30,205 |
| Surface | Grass |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | 31 January 1997 |
| Built | 1997–1998 |
| Opened | 10 May 1998 |
| Expanded | September 2008 |
| Construction cost | ƒ 33 million € 50 million (1st expansion) |
| Architect | IAA Architecten |
| Structural engineer | VolkerWessels |
| Services engineer | Matrix Installatie Adviseurs |
| Tenants | |
| FC Twente (1998–present) FC Twente Women (selected matches)Netherlands national football team men/women (selected matches) | |
De Grolsch Veste (Dutch pronunciation:[dəˈɣrɔlsˌfɛstə];[a]transl. "TheGrolsch Fortress"), previously known asArke Stadion (Dutch pronunciation:[ˈɑrkəˌstaːdijɔn]), is the stadium offootball clubFC Twente. It is located inEnschede,Netherlands, at the Business & Science Park, near theUniversity of Twente. The stadium has an all-seated capacity of 30,205 with a standard pitch heating system and has a promenade instead of fences around the stands. It hosted the final of theUEFA Women's Euro 2017.[1]
De Grolsch Veste replaced the oldDiekman Stadion asFC Twente's home ground on 22 March 1998. Plans had been afoot to expand and to renovate the old and now demolished Diekman Stadion. However, with a growing fan capacity and with arguments that the location of the Diekman stadium was not strategic enough, the idea was conceived to build a new arena for theFC Twente fans. The Diekman ground also faced problems with its seating plans as a result of previousFIFA regulations which imposed a necessity to construct a seating tribune behind each goal post.
The cost of the construction is estimated to have been around 33 millionguilders and it took fourteen months to complete, with its foundation stone having been laid on 31 January 1997. Due to the tight budget available, the layout of the stadium was constructed in such a way that future expansions would be possible without the necessity to tear down entire stands.
The first match played at the stadium was a 3–0 victory by the home team againstPSV on 10 May 1998 in anEredivisie match. The first goal in the new stadium was scored in the 14th minute by FC Twente playerChris De Witte.
On 1 October 2006, the stadium was updated with two big flatscreen video-walls.
In May 2008, the Arke Stadion was renamed to De Grolsch Veste with beer breweryGrolsch as sponsor. The brewery is located in the club's hometownEnschede. The name "Veste" (fortress) is a reference toGroenlo, a former fortified town that was often besieged and whereGrolsch was first brewed.
On 5 September 2009, for the first time ever an international (friendly) match was played in theFC Twente stadium when theNetherlands beatJapan 3–0.
In 2006, plans were unfolded to increase the stadium capacity to 24,000 seats. The expansion started in January 2008 and was completed in September 2008, just in time for the start of the 2008–2009 season.
FC Twente is aiming to start a new phase in the stadium expansion in the summer of 2011 which will result in a capacity of 32,000 seats.
As part of the combinedNetherlands andBelgium bid[2] to host the2018 FIFA World Cup, the stadium was one of five stadiums in the Netherlands selected by theKNVB to host games. This would mean that the stadium capacity needed to be expanded to the minimum required seating of 44,000.
The city ofEnschede announced on 11 September 2009 that it would officially be a candidate city and that it would fully supportFC Twente's ambition to expand the stadium capacity to the minimum required seating of 44,000. In December 2009,IAA Architecten released computer generated images of the proposed 44,000+ stadium with an arched 3rd tier, to complete the main stand.[3]
![[icon]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aWiki_letter_w_cropped.svg) | This sectionneeds expansion. You can help byadding to it.(August 2011) |
The Grolsch Veste was expanded during the summer of 2011. On 7 July, when working on the construction of the stand, the roof suddenly collapsed, killing two workers and injuring 14 people.[4] The collapse was probably caused by too much weight on the unfinished roof. After an investigation of a month, the roof was taken away and work continued.FC Twente played the first few competition matches partly without a roof. The new stadium was officially opened on 29 October with a competition match againstPSV Eindhoven (2-2). A year after the accident, a monument was unveiled.
Media related toDe Grolsch Veste at Wikimedia Commons
| Events | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | UEFA European Women's Championship Final venue 2017 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | UEFA Nations League Finals venue 2023 withDe Kuip | Succeeded by |
