The Constant Vanden Stock Stadium (french: Stade Constant Vanden Stock, nl, Constant Vanden Stockstadion), also known as the Lotto Park for sponsorship reasons,
is a
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...
stadium
A stadium ( : stadiums or stadia) is a place or venue for (mostly) outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a tiered structure designed to allow spectators to stand o ...
in the municipality of
Anderlecht
Anderlecht (, ) is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the south-western part of the region, it is bordered by the City of Brussels, Forest, Molenbeek-Saint-Jean, and Saint-Gilles, as well as the ...
in
Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
, Belgium. It is home to
R.S.C. Anderlecht
; french: Les Mauves et Blancs)
, short name = R.S.C.A.
, founded =
, ground = Constant Vanden Stock Stadium
, capacity = 22,500
, owntitle = Chairman
, owner = Wouter Vandenhaute
, manager = Brian Riemer
...
. It also hosted the
UEFA Euro 1972 semi-final between
Hungary
Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Cr ...
and the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
, as well as several games of the
Belgium national football team
The Belgium national football teamfrench: Équipe nationale belge de footballgerman: Belgische Fußballnationalmannschaft officially represents Belgium in men's international football since their maiden match in 1904. The squad is under th ...
.
History
Early history
In 1917,
R.S.C. Anderlecht
; french: Les Mauves et Blancs)
, short name = R.S.C.A.
, founded =
, ground = Constant Vanden Stock Stadium
, capacity = 22,500
, owntitle = Chairman
, owner = Wouter Vandenhaute
, manager = Brian Riemer
...
installed, on the border of the Meir Park (later renamed
Astrid Park
Astrid Park (french: Parc Astrid, nl, Astridpark) is an urban public park in the municipality of Anderlecht in Brussels, Belgium. The park was inaugurated on 13 August 1911 and was named the / ("Meir Park") until 1935, when the mayor of Anderl ...
), a new stadium with only one wooden stand. It was originally called the Émile Versé Stadium (french: Stade Émile Versé, link=no, nl, Émile Verséstadion, link=no), after the industrialist Émile Versé, a generous patron of the club. Later, concrete stands were set up.
Between 1983 and 1991, the stadium was completely rebuilt and renamed the Constant Vanden Stock Stadium (french: Stade Constant Vanden Stock, link=no, nl, Constant Vanden Stockstadion, link=no), after the club's then-chairman,
Constant Vanden Stock
Constant Vanden Stock (; 13 June 1914 – 19 April 2008) was the president and a player of Belgian football club R.S.C. Anderlecht. The stadium of this club was named after him. Constant Vanden Stock also served as coach of the Belgium nationa ...
.
21st century
In 2010, the son of Constant Vanden Stock,
Roger
Roger is a given name, usually masculine, and a surname. The given name is derived from the Old French personal names ' and '. These names are of Germanic origin, derived from the elements ', ''χrōþi'' ("fame", "renown", "honour") and ', ' ( ...
, announced together with RSC Anderlecht's manager Herman Van Holsbeeck that the club was going to build a third ring above the two existing ones in order to increase the stadium's capacity to 30,000 places. As of 2022, these works have not started, and it is doubtful they will, as in 2014 Anderlecht agreed to become anchor tenant of the planned 60,000+ new national stadium, thus sealing the fate of their spiritual home.
In the summer of 2012, R.S.C. Anderlecht carried out work to bring the stadium up to
UEFA
Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; french: Union des associations européennes de football; german: Union der europäischen Fußballverbände) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs fo ...
standards. Its capacity was thus decreased to 21,500 seats but it offers more comfort, more security, as well as new VIP areas and a brand new press room. All seats in the stadium are now equipped with a backrest. The aisles have been widened by for safety reasons, rail seats for
safe standing were fitted on the terracing behind each goal, while stand 1 is now equipped with 651 outdoor VIP seats.
During European competitions, the stadium is all-seated, which decreases even more its capacity.
In 2019, the stadium was officially rebranded as the Lotto Park, for sponsorship reasons.
Location and features
The stadium is located at 2, Avenue Théo Verbeeck/Théo Verbeecklaan, near
Saint-Guidon/Sint-Guido metro station. Rival supporters must stop at
Aumale metro station
Aumale is a Brussels Metro station on the western branch of line 5. It is located in the municipality of Anderlecht, in the western part of Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Regi ...
for
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competi ...
matches due to security measures. The stadium hosts a former one-star restaurant (''Le Saint-Guidon'') and a cafeteria, as well as the official club fanshop and ticketing booths.
References
Notes
External links
Stadium Guide ArticleStadium Database ArticleImages of the expansion of the stadium at Jaspers-Eyers Architects
{{UEFA Euro 1972 stadiums
Sports venues completed in 1917
UEFA Euro 1972 stadiums
Football venues in Brussels
Anderlecht
R.S.C. Anderlecht