Belgian Pro League football club Sporting Charleroi has been given the green light to develop its new stadium after a building permit was granted by the City of Charleroi.
Under the current moniker of the ‘Zebrarena’, yesterday’s (Tuesday’s) announcement comes more than four years after plans for the project were first unveiled. In October 2019, the stadium was announced as part of the Sambre Ouest masterplan, which was divided up into four distinct elements for the redevelopment of the historic part of Charleroi by 2035.
The facility will be located in Marchienne-au-Pont on wasteland that had been part of steelworks and mining developments. The multi-functional stadium was part of the plans revealed by the City of Charleroi, with the club having earlier stressed the need for a new home as it unveiled its ‘Horizon 2024’ vision.
The project has since faced delays, in particular due to the COVID-19 crisis, but Sporting is now hoping to move into its new home in time for the 2026-27 season. The 20,000-seat stadium’s design has been led by French architecture firm Mariotti & Associés and Belgian company Carré 7 and is promising a European first through the inclusion of a transparent roof.
“This innovative roof will make the Zebrarena unique in Europe,” Cyril Rousseaux, a managing architect at Carré 7, told RTBF. “The stands and the pitch will be protected from wind, rain and snow.
“The Zebrarena will be able to host large concerts without the organiser having to worry about bad weather. In the event of heavy rain, there will be no question of cancellation and that is a huge asset.
“We created an English-style stadium with four closed corners and stands very close to the playing area to allow supporters to be as close as possible to the players, as if they were in the match.”
While the building permit has been issued, construction on the stadium is not expected to begin until 2025 as decontamination work on the site continues. The Zebrarena is projected to cost just over €70m (£60.2m/$76.6m), with the bill being footed in total by Sporting and private investors.
The new stadium has also been proposed as one of Belgium’s venues in the country’s joint bid for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup with the Netherlands and Germany. The bid is facing competition from Brazil and another joint proposal from the United States and Mexico.
FIFA is due to commence inspection visits to the bidding countries next month, ahead of appointing the hosts at its congress on May 17.
Sporting has played at the Stade du Pays de Charleroi since 1939, with the stadium having been heavily redeveloped to be a host venue for Belgium’s co-hosting of UEFA Euro 2000 with the Netherlands. Its capacity was 30,000 for the tournament, but this has since been scaled back to 15,000.
