Stade Bempt – design description

What is the summary of the new stadium project for Union Saint-Gilloise?

In 2018, two British investors took over Union Saint-Gilloise, then playing in the second division. The results came quickly – in 2021 the club was promoted to the top tier and immediately became one of the leading teams in the Belgian league. Four years later, they won their first national championship in 90 years.

Despite the modernization of Stade Joseph Marien between 2016 and 2018, the new owners wanted to build a completely new stadium for the club. A plot was found in Bempt, near the Brussels ring road, on the southwestern edge of the Brussels-Capital Region.

The vision for the new venue was created by KSS Group and ESA Architecture. The design features extensive use of wood and several eco-friendly solutions. The stadium will have four separate stands (with the stands along the pitch significantly higher) and a total capacity of 16,000 spectators.

At the end of 2022, the club submitted an offer to buy the plot from the municipality. However, the authorities deemed the proposed price too low, and key guarantees and analyses were missing from Union’s plans. As a result, the project stalled in negotiations for the following years.

How did the new stadium project for Union Saint-Gilloise come about?

Who are Union Saint-Gilloise?

Royale Union Saint-Gilloise is a football club founded in 1897 in Saint-Gilles, one of the 19 municipalities forming the Brussels-Capital Region, located south of the city center. It is registered under matricule number 10 in the Belgian Football Association.

Since 1919, Union Saint-Gilloise’s home has been Stade Joseph Marien, located in the neighboring municipality of Forest, even further south of Brussels city center.

In 1904, Union Saint-Gilloise won its first Belgian championship. By 1935, they had claimed the title 11 times, making them the most successful club in the country before World War II.

In 1959, after eliminating AS Roma, the team reached the semifinals of the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup. However, the 1960s marked a decline, and after relegation from the top division in 1973, the club did not return to the elite for nearly half a century.

When did Union Saint-Gilloise return to the top ranks of Belgian football?

In 2018, two British businessmen, Tony Bloom (owner of Brighton & Hove Albion) and Alex Muzio, invested in the club. At that time, the team had been playing in the second division since 2015.

In 2021, after 48 years, Union Saint-Gilloise was promoted back to the top division. Since returning to the Jupiler Pro League, the club quickly became one of the national front-runners – in their first season back, they sensationally competed for the championship, ultimately finishing second.

In 2024, Union won both the Belgian Cup and the Belgian Super Cup. On May 25, 2025, after a home victory against KAA Gent, they secured their 12th national championship – their first in 90 years.

When was the plan to build a new stadium for Union Saint-Gilloise conceived?

Although Stade Joseph Marien underwent modernization between 2016 and 2018, the new owners of Union Saint-Gilloise decided from the very beginning that it was not sufficient for the club and began making efforts towards building a new stadium.

After the municipal elections in October 2018, the club contacted the new local authorities to determine a suitable location for the new venue.

In early 2019, the club found a plot in the Bempt area, on Avenue de la 2ème Armée Britannique and the Brussels Ring Road (R0), next to a complex of sports fields as well as the Audi factory.

Another option considered by the club was Stade Adrien Bertelson, which could potentially be redeveloped. However, the preferred location was the site in Bempt. Both locations are within the municipality of Forest, located slightly south of the current Stade Joseph Marien.

In 2020, the club began working with KSS Group and ESA Architecture, which in 2021 prepared a concept for the new stadium in Bempt. The construction was expected to cost €60–80 million and be financed entirely from private funds.

Would staying at Stade Joseph Marien be a good alternative to building a new stadium?

Stade Joseph Marien does not meet UEFA criteria, and its expansion – expected due to the club’s high ambitions and successes – would be difficult because the main stand and the park surrounding the stadium are protected as heritage sites. On the other hand, the venue has a long history associated with Union, and fans are attached to it.

What happened next with the plans for Union Saint-Gilloise’s new stadium?

In 2021, Union was promoted to the top division, and at the end of that year, Perspective.brussels (a public expertise center for territorial development in the Brussels-Capital Region) prepared a preliminary study analyzing both locations (Bempt and Stade Adrien Bertelson) in comparison with the existing Stade Joseph Marien.

Offer to purchase the plot

At the end of 2022, the club presented the municipality with an offer to purchase a 3.5-hectare plot in Bempt for €3.5 million. On 16 January 2023, Union also unveiled additional details of its concept for building a new stadium on the site.

In February 2023, however, the municipality rejected the purchase proposal. The reasons included, among others, the price being too low, the lack of plans to compensate current users of the site, and the absence of other studies, guarantees, and agreements — for example, regarding the environmental impact of the investment, the organisation of public transport, and the use of nearby parking facilities.

At the same time, the municipal council recommended further consultations with the club to find a possible compromise. In subsequent negotiations between the municipality and the club, the authorities of the Brussels-Capital Region acted as mediators. In the meantime, the club engaged consulting firm Stratec to carry out the necessary analyses.

Search for additional architects

In October 2023, the club, in cooperation with the Chief Architect of the Brussels-Capital Region (bouwmeester / maître architecte), invited architects to submit bids to design the new stadium. The selected designer was to join the previously appointed team of ESA and KSS to jointly develop the existing concept, focusing on integrating the facility into its surroundings.

Exclusion of Stade Joseph Marien expansion

In April 2024, Ans Persoons, Secretary of State of the Brussels-Capital Region, ruled out the expansion of the existing Stade Joseph Marien, indicating that the optimal solution would be to build a new stadium at a different location.

Shortly afterwards, however, the club announced that work on the project had been suspended, explaining that this was due to the lack of support from the municipal authorities; it was also likely motivated by the desire to wait for the outcome of the upcoming local elections.

Belgian Championship

The stadium topic resurfaced in May 2025. In mid-month, the club announced its intention to submit a building permit application. Shortly afterwards, Union secured its first league title in 90 years, further increasing interest and expectations regarding the new stadium.

Meanwhile, a group of activists documented plant and animal species found in Bempt, the site identified by the club for the project. Local residents had previously also expressed opposition to the development.

What does the concept for Union Saint-Gilloise’s new stadium involve?

The vision created by KSS Group and ESA Architecture calls for the construction of a football-specific stadium with a capacity of around 16,000 spectators. The venue would feature four separate covered stands – two along the sidelines and two (significantly smaller) behind the goals.

The original plan foresaw a larger capacity of 21,000, as well as the construction of a high-rise hotel with 100–150 rooms next to the stadium. However, this was dropped because it did not comply with the local zoning plan.

The stadium is to be characterised by extensive use of wood as a building material, along with eco-friendly features such as photovoltaic panels on the roof and rainwater harvesting.

The main stand with extensive facilities will be located on the west side. Despite similar dimensions, due to the presence of boxes and premium seating, its capacity will be around half that of the east stand.

The plan provides for a small number of parking spaces – intended exclusively for VIPs. Other fans wishing to come by car will be able to use existing parking facilities in the area.

Where is Union Saint-Gilloise’s new stadium planned to be built?

The club has set its sights on a plot of land in the Bempt area, in the southern part of the municipality of Forest. The site lies around 2.5 km south of the current Stade Joseph Marien, in the south-western part of the Brussels-Capital Region, close to the administrative border with Flemish Region.

The plot is located along Avenue de la 2ème Armée Britannique, directly next to the Brussels Ring Road (R0). Nearby is a complex of sports fields used by Rugby Club de Forest and FC Forest, as well as the buildings of the Audi factory, which closed in February 2025.

One advantage of this location is that the nearest houses are 300 metres away. In the local zoning plan, the plot is designated for sports and recreational purposes, with only small peripheral sections allocated for industrial use.

Interestingly, less than a kilometre away, within a nearby sports complex in the municipality of Uccle, plans are also in place for the construction of a national field hockey stadium.

The plot in which the club is interested covers 3.5 hectares. The northern part of the site consists mainly of wasteland and partly a street workout area; its southern part includes one of the pitches from the neighbouring complex, as well as the operational base of the municipal green space maintenance services.