The current leaders of the Belgian Jupiler League are slowly planning their move to a new venue. The Brussels club is currently considering three different locations where a stadium with a capacity of over 21,000 seats could be built.

After 25 rounds, the newcomer from the outskirts of Brussels is an unexpected leader of the Belgian league with a solid 9-point advantage over second-placed Club Brugge. Admittedly, the rise of Royale Union is a global phenomenon, but the awakening of the "sleeping giant" has been going on for a few years now.

Since 2018, the owner of the club from the Saint-Gilles municipality is Tony Bloom, a professional poker player and at the same time owner of Brighton & Hove Albion. 'The Seagulls' have been impressive in the English Premier League for years, mainly due to their great transfer policy as well as the spectacular and offensive game. The same will be the case in Belgium. The construction of a new venue will allow to take the next step in the process of restoring the power of the 11-time champion of the country (last trophy won in the 34/35 season).

© René Deprez

The move began to be discussed in May 2021, shortly after Royale's promotion to the Belgian Premier League. The club's current home, over 100-year-old Stade Joseph Marien, no longer meets the 21st-century standards of a modern football club. RSG even qualified to the group stage of the 2022/23 UEFA Europa League, in which they defeated Union Berlin, from the country where neue online casinos 2022 is based, in their first match.

Thanks to detailed research and analysis made by the regional urban planning agency perspective.brussels, potential sites for the new facility have been identified. On January 25, a meeting was held between the club's authorities and the Minister-President of the Brussels-Capital Region, Rudi Vervoort, during which three options were proposed, all located within the Brussels Forest municipality.

The first one would involve rebuilding the club's current home, but this option seems by far the least likely, and even "unrealistic" according to the agency. The second proposal would be to demolish and then rebuild Bertelson Stadium, which is currently used by the local athletics club. This plot is also not considered seriously, as it is located in a densely populated area.

© KSS Design Group

So far, the favourite is the location between the Brussels ring road, Bempt Park and the Audi Forest factory. This concept is most favoured by the club itself, which has even prepared a three-stage construction plan. The stadium would have a base capacity of 14,000, which would be increased in the second phase to 17,600 and in the third to 21,100.

The total cost of the project, prepared by architectural companies KSS and ESA, is expected to be around €70 million and will be entirely financed by the club. The construction site covers over 37,000 m², including 22,470 m² for the stadium itself, a VIP car park of almost 4,000 m², and a media centre. 

The investment will also include an on-site swimming pool and a hotel with 100-150 rooms outside the stadium building. If all goes according to plan, construction of the entire complex will take between 2 and 3 years.