De Grolsch Veste - Enschede (NL)
Posted by: 
Axel-F
N 52° 14.195 E 006° 50.268
32U E 352356 N 5789554
Stadium of Dutch soccer club FC Twente.
Waymark Code: WM10AXK
Location: Overijssel, Netherlands
Date Posted: 04/04/2019
Views: 8
De Grolsch Veste,(English: The Grolsch Fortress) previously known as Arke Stadion is the stadium of football club FC Twente. It is located in Enschede, Netherlands, at the Business & Science Park, near the University of Twente. The stadium has an all-seated capacity of 30,205 with a standard pitch heating system and has a promenade instead of fences around the stands. It hosted the final of the UEFA Women's Euro 2017.
History
De Grolsch Veste replaced the old Diekman Stadion as FC Twente's home ground on 22 March 1998. Plans had been afoot to expand and to renovate the old and now demolished Diekman Stadion. However, with a growing fan capacity and with arguments that the location of the Diekman stadium was not strategic enough, the idea was conceived to build a new arena for the FC Twente fans. The Diekman ground also faced problems with its seating plans as a result of previous FIFA regulations which imposed a necessity to construct a seating tribune behind each goal post.
The cost of the construction is estimated to have been around 33 million guilders and it took fourteen months to complete, with its foundation stone having been laid on 31 January 1997. Due to the tight budget available, the layout of the stadium was constructed in such a way that future expansions would be possible without the necessity to tear down entire stands.
The first match played at the stadium was a 3–0 victory by the home team against PSV on 10 May 1998 in an Eredivisie match. The first goal in the new stadium was scored in the 14th minute by FC Twente player Chris De Witte.
On 1 October 2006, the stadium was updated with two big flat screen video-walls.
In May 2008 the Arke Stadion was renamed to De Grolsch Veste with beer brewery Grolsch as sponsor. The brewery is located in the club's hometown Enschede. The name "Veste" (fortress) is a reference to Groenlo, a former fortified town that was often besieged and where Grolsch was first brewed.
On 5 September 2009 for the first time ever an international (friendly) match was played in the FC Twente stadium when the Netherlands beat Japan 3–0.
Expansion
In 2006 plans were unfolded to increase the stadium capacity to 24,000 seats. The expansion started in January 2008 and was completed in September 2008, just in time for the start of the 2008–2009 season.
FC Twente is aiming to start a new phase in the stadium expansion in the summer of 2011 which will result in a capacity of 32,000 seats.
As part of the combined Netherlands and Belgium bid[3] to host the 2018 FIFA World Cup, the stadium was one of five stadiums in the Netherlands selected by the KNVB to host games. This would mean that the stadium capacity needed to be expanded to the minimum required seating of 44,000.
The city of Enschede announced on 11 September 2009 that it would officially be a candidate city and that it would fully support FC Twente's ambition to expand the stadium capacity to the minimum required seating of 44,000. In December 2009, IAA Architecten released computer generated images of the proposed 44,000+ stadium with an arched 3rd tier, to complete the main stand.
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Ik besteed liefdevolle aandacht aan mijn Waymarks daarom komen 'visits' zonder een originele foto in aanmerking om te worden verwijderd.
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Dear visitor of this WM, please take notice of the following:
I put effort in my waymarks and therefore visits without an original photo are subject for deletion. A few lines about your visit is highly appreciated.
It's the home of which team(s)?: FC Twente
Which professional sports are played here?: Soccer
Capacity (number of seats): 31205
Opening Date: 05/10/1998
Guided Tours: yes
Venue's Website or Team's Website: [Web Link]
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Visit Instructions:
1) Tell how was your visit. Were you at a game, which one? Have you just visited it by the outside, on a guided tour maybe? Are you a fan?
2) Pictures:
- They should be taken by YOU.
- No internet pictures are allowed.
- Upload one photo, at least. It would be great if you'd upload one of the venue and one with you on the photo.
- No need of photos with the GPSr.
- Extra credits for photos inside, with the teams playing.