FC Twente - Stadium

Stadium

De Grolsch Veste, formerly named Arke Stadion, is the official stadium of FC Twente and is owned by the club. It is located at the Business & Science Park, near the University of Twente and between the city centers of Enschede and Hengelo. It has a spectator capacity of 30,205 with a standard pitch heating system and has a promenade instead of fences around the stands.

De Grolsch Veste replaced the old Diekman Stadion as Twente's home ground on 22 March 1998. Initially plans had been afoot to expand and renovate the old and now demolished Diekman stadium. 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 Twente fans. The Diekman ground also faced problems with its seating plans as a result of the FIFA regulations which imposes a requirement to construct a seating stand behind each goal.

The cost of the construction is estimated to be around 33 million guilders and 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 so that future expansions are possible without the necessity to tear down entire existing stands.

On 10 May 1998 the first match played at the stadium resulted in a 3–0 victory by the home team against PSV in an Eredivisie match.

Initially the Grolsch Veste had a capacity of 13,500 spectators which was later reduced to 13,250. As of the start of the 2008/09 season the stadium has been expanded with a partial second ring increasing the capacity to the current 24,000 seats. After a second expansion, completed in 2011, the capacity became 30,205.

The recording of "You'll Never Walk Alone" by Gerry & the Pacemakers is sung along in the whole stadium before every kick-off.

On 7 July 2011, a section of the stadium roof collapsed whilst expansion work was taking place at the stadium, killing two people.