Dutch Eredivisie football club Feyenoord has reportedly dropped plans to build a new 63,000-seat stadium amid rising costs related to the wider Feyenoord City project.
Local broadcaster RTV Rijnmond has reported that Feyenoord feels it would not be responsible to continue with the project after construction group BAM revealed that the conditions required for building the stadium have “changed considerably”.
The report adds that Feyenoord and other parties involved in the project have expressed “outrage” towards BAM for failing to indicate that the costs would rise so considerably.
The rising costs are said to be linked to raw materials, but RTV Rijnmond, citing sources familiar with the matter, reported that the main cause of the increase is a “change of course” at BAM.
The company recently detailed a new policy plan, which includes an option for it to withdraw from projects it deems to be risky.
The new stadium forms part of the ambitious Feyenoord City project, which incorporates the building of at least 3,700 new houses in southern Rotterdam. The project as a whole has been priced at over €1.5bn (£1.3bn/$1.7bn), with the stadium having a reported price tag of €441m earlier this year.
In April, the stadium appeared to move a step closer after Feyenoord approved the business plan for the project. The club signed off on the dossier after stating that it proves the new stadium would generate nearly €8m extra per year in revenue than De Kuip, its current home.
De Kuip has a capacity of 51,000. There has been some debate over whether Feyenoord needs a 63,000-seat stadium, which would be the biggest and most expensive in the Netherlands.
In September last year, Feyenoord gave its qualified backing to the stadium but warned that substantial work remained for the project to come to fruition. It came after architecture firms OMA and LOLA revealed refined plans for the stadium.
Image: Валерий Дед/CC BY 3.0/Edited for size
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