About the Building
Shortly after the Second World War, the local authorities decided to demolish the old stand along the club’s field and to build a real stadium. At that time, it was very difficult to raise the funds to undertake major works or to find the necessary raw materials, and the commune had to rely on donations and the voluntary work of some workers and contractors. The architect Maurice Delahousse, from the office Stabilis NV, draws the plans of the stadium. The company of the Vanhee brothers was then appointed for its realization. The works lasted about fifteen months, and the stadium was inaugurated on August 17, 1947. The construction cost was about 2 000 000 Belgian francs, or 50 000 €, a huge sum at the time.
In January 1988, the auditorium bordering the field was demolished to be replaced by a new stand. This decision followed the Heysel tragedy, since which UEFA has raised the safety standards in soccer stadiums. On August 17, 1988, the new stand was completed, and the renovation of the other three stands began, to be completed within the year. The total cost of the refurbishment of the stadium is approximately 72 million Belgian francs (€1,800,000), shared between the city of Kortrijk (55 million) and the club (17 million). As a result of this work, the capacity of the stadium was increased to 15,000.
In the following years, the number of available seats was reduced. A stand behind a goalkeeper (“courtyard side”) had to be closed due to concrete cancer, bringing the total capacity of the stadium to only 6,896 seats. It was only renovated in 2008, when KV Kortrijk was promoted to the Jupiler Pro League. The stadium currently has 9,399 seats, of which 5,749 are seated.