It was supposed to be ready this summer but COVID-19 caused significant delays. Now SC Freiburg confirm they will not play any games at the new stadium before January, 2021.

Uncertainty still surrounds the opening date of the new SC Freiburg stadium. For a few weeks we've known that delivery in August is impossible and late 2020 is the best possible option. Now we know more: opening in 2020 is out of question.

This was confirmed by sporting director Jochen Saier and manager Christian Streich. Both of them suggested the team would not play the first game before second half of the season, which begins in January. Of course providing there are no additional issues caused by COVID-19. Only once construction is done, specific decisions on opening will be made.

This means SC Freiburg will begin the upcoming campaign at Schwarzwald-Stadion. It's unclear how many of the 25,000 places will be occupied during games but the delay opens an opportunity to organise a farewell game for the ground that has served the club since 1954.

Construction of the new stadium in Freiburg's Wolfswinkel practically began early last year (though officially ground works were launched in November of 2018). By European standards the process is still far from slow, however delivery in August proved unrealistic with the pandemic ongoing.

The arena will offer 34,700 places, of which roughly 12,000 will be for standing fans only. The price tag has been set at under €77 million ($89m).

© Freiburg