Lotto Park

Lotto Park
	Parc Astrid / Astrid Park
	View of the interior (March 2016)
Earlier names
	Stade Émile Versé / Émile Versé Stadium / Émile Versé Stadium (1917–1983) ; Stade Constant Vanden Stock / Constant Vanden Stock Stadium / Constant Vanden Stock Stadium (1983–2019)
Data
place	Avenue Théo Verbeeck 2 1070 Anderlecht , Belgium;
Coordinates	50 ° 50 '3.1 " N , 4 ° 17' 54.1" E Coordinates: 50 ° 50 '3.1 " N , 4 ° 17' 54.1" E
classification	4th
owner	RSC Anderlecht
operator	RSC Anderlecht
opening	1917
Renovations	1935, 1953-1962, 1983-1991, 2012
surface	Hybrid lawn (Desso GrassMaster)
capacity	21,500 seats
Capacity (internat.)	20,125 seats
playing area	106 × 65 m
Societies)
	RSC Anderlecht;
Events
	Semi-finals of the 1972 European Football Championship; Last international soccer game in the GDR (1990);

The Lotto Park , which will be the Constant Vanden Stock Stadium until 2019 , is a football stadium in Anderlecht , Belgium , a municipality in the Brussels-Capital Region . It is the property and home ground of the RSC Anderlecht football club .

description

Since the renovation in 2012, the stadium offers 21,500 seats. The capacity was reduced by converting the standing room; at the same time, 651 additional VIP seats were installed on grandstand 1. All seats have backrests and the aisles have been widened by 40 centimeters for safety reasons. In addition to a cafeteria, the one-star restaurant Saint-Guidon and the official club fan shop were located on the stadium grounds. The restaurant closed in 2018 because, for the club's chairman Marc Coucke, a restaurant in the stadium that is open every day has no relevance for the club.

history

In 1917 the stadium was built on the edge of the Parc du Meir (later Astrid Park), consisting of a single wooden grandstand, it was named Stade Émile Versé . Over the years, other stands followed, later also made of concrete. In 1983 the stadium was completely rebuilt on the ground of the old venue, the new building was named after the club president at the time, Constant Vanden Stock .

In 1972 the stadium hosted the semi-finals of the European Football Championship between Hungary and the Soviet Union . The Soviet Union reached the final with a 1-0 win. The match took place in front of only 1,659 spectators, as hosts Belgium played against the Federal Republic of Germany in the second semi-final kicking off at the same time in Antwerp .

After winning the 1975/76 European Cup Winners' Cup , RSC Anderlecht played against FC Bayern Munich in the 1976 UEFA Super Cup . In the second leg in Anderlecht, the RSC won 4-1 and won the Super Cup in their own stadium. Two years later, the club managed to win the European Cup Winners' Cup again and so they played again for the UEFA Super Cup . At home in the first leg they laid the foundations for a 3-1 win against Liverpool .

In 1984 the club was in the final of the UEFA Cup . The first leg against Tottenham Hotspur at the Constant Vanden Stock Stadium ended 1-1 in front of 40,000 visitors. After a 1-1 draw in the second leg after 90 minutes at White Hart Lane , the RSC won the UEFA Cup with a 4-3 penalty shoot-out .

On September 12, 1990, the GDR international soccer match took place in Belgium and thus the last international match of a GDR selection in the stadium. The GDR won the game in front of 12,000 spectators with two goals from captain Matthias Sammer 2-0.

RSC Anderlecht planned to expand the stadium to 40,000 seats and rename it to "Fortis Stadium" after Bank Fortis , which is the main sponsor of the RSC. Instead of renovating and expanding the current venue, the RSC Anderlecht, alongside the Belgian national football team , should move into the new Euro Stadium with around 60,000 seats from 2019 . The national stadium was planned for the 2021 European football championship . It was supposed to replace the King Baudouin Stadium , which was planned to be demolished in 2020. In June 2015, the contracts for the construction and use were signed by the contract partners, the city of Brussels, the Brussels-Capital Region, RSC Anderlecht and the construction company Ghelamco Group .

In December 2017, UEFA removed Brussels and the Eurostadion from the list of venues. The reason was a number of delays in the stadium planning. UEFA had given an ultimatum until November 2017 to submit the complete documents. The construction company Ghelamco wanted to build the stadium in a different location. At the end of January 2018, the Flemish Environment and Agriculture Minister Joke Schuvliegeeine spoke out against the construction. An environmental permit for the new building was not granted. At the beginning of the month, the regional environmental committee rejected the construction project. A maximum of 50,000 m² of leisure facilities may stand on the property. According to the building application, with the stadium construction it would have been 100,000 m². The Minister refused. Another problem would have been the traffic situation at the site. That is why the traffic authority rejected the project. This means that implementation of the stadium construction is no longer to be expected.

After the failure of the Eurostadion, RSC Anderlecht is again planning to build its own stadium with 30,000 seats. One possible location would be next to the club's training center in Neerpede. Land around the center already belongs to the RSC, and more would have to be bought by the Brussels region. During construction, the Constant Vanden Stock Stadium would be demolished and apartments, offices and shops would be built there. If the implementation of a new building would take longer, the old stadium could be renovated again and remain the home of the RSC for a few years.

At the end of March 2019, the RSCA and the Belgian state lottery company Loterie Nationale agreed a sponsorship agreement on the stadium name. It will bear the new name from the 2019/20 season . The exact name of the football arena, which is over 100 years old, has not yet been determined, but should be announced in the next few weeks. It shouldn't be called Lotto Arena to avoid confusion with the multi-purpose hall in Antwerp . The main entrance to the stadium is currently being modernized and redesigned. This work should be completed by the end of the current season. On July 9th, the new name became known through an attentive fan. In the morning a banner with the name Lotto Park was attached to the stadium , which was later covered again. The fan photographed the banner and posted it.