Cambuur Stadion hit by delays

Dutch Eredivisie football club SC Cambuur has announced that the delivery of its new stadium will not meet its target of September 2023.

Cambuur said the delays are due to a “combination of circumstances” with the project stakeholders – Van Wijnen, SC Cambuur, ROC Friese Poort and Municipality of Leeuwarden – now looking at “recalibrating” the planning.

Construction of the facility began in the summer, but it is expected that the new Cambuur Stadion will now be ready between December 2023 and the spring of 2024. The club said one of the main reasons it will not be ready on time is that the stadium is only expected to be connected to the local electricity grid in December 2023.

Cambuur added: “Less power is available on the electricity network than is needed. To solve this, a solution with a sustainable climate system is being considered. A final choice for the climate system in the stadium complex has not yet been made. The climate system and the other installations still have to be adjusted after the stadium is connected to the electricity network.”

The club continued: “In addition, Van Wijnen and SC Cambuur are busy with the planning for the completion. In combination with the planning, designing public space, safety and the desire to be able to play football in the stadium as quickly as possible, this is a complex whole. 

“The parties will also look at practical solutions that will allow the complex to be put into use, while not yet fully delivered. These circumstances mean that, together with the choice for the climate system that has yet to be made, no new delivery date can be announced.”

Cambuur in March hailed a “special milestone” for the future of the club after contracts were signed for the development of its new stadium.

The Leeuwarden-based club signed the deal alongside construction partner Van Wijnen, the Municipality of Leeuwarden and ROC Friese Poort. The latter entity, an education company, will rent a 7,500-square-metre space within the stadium to house a new school building.

In October 2021, Cambuur revised plans for its new stadium as it sought to address rising construction costs. The club has played at the 10,500-capacity Cambuurstadion since 1936.