Antwerp Football Club and chairman Paul Gheysens are working concretely on the construction of grandstand 2 – preferably within two years. There is no agreement with landowner Tania Mintjens, but the club has a building right until 2052, with the option to extend it for another fifty years.
Antwerp wants to build a new stand to replace the iconic and dilapidated stand 2. Chairman Paul Gheysens originally did not want to do this without first purchasing the land from Tania Mintjens, but has now changed tack. Antwerp has a building right until 2052, there is an option to extend this for another fifty years. During that time, the club can do whatever it wants on the ground. The income from any investments is for the club, but when the building rights expire, Mintjens (or her heirs) can buy the buildings on the land for a market price.
Gheysens did not like that scenario for a long time, even though he had previously built two other stands under the same conditions. Antwerp calculated that without a finished stadium it would lose around 25 million euros in annual turnover. With those figures in mind, it is logical that Antwerp continued to look for ways to complete the Bosuil. Now the solution is to just get started.
No fancy grandstand
The plans are as good as finished, Antwerp is also working on the necessary permits. In an ideal world, grandstand 2 will be completed within two years. Antwerp wants to honor the traditions by mainly providing space for diehard supporters, as was the case in the past: it will not be a chic stand with many places of honor, champagne bars and boxes, but a classic design.
This should not only benefit the fan experience, it is also cheaper to install such a stand. This suits Antwerp well: the club will finance the construction itself. In recent months there have been reports about Antwerp’s financial health and poor payments, but it now sounds that the club was already building up a fund for grandstand 2.
It is perhaps also for this reason that Antwerp hopes to make a few lucrative outgoing transfers next summer. For example, 17-year-old George Ilenikhena is on the radar of several top European clubs. Mandela Keita (21), Jean Butez (28) and Michel-Ange Balikwisha (22) are also eligible for a transfer.
Paul Gheysens did not want to respond on the record about the plans. The chairman of RAFC emphasized again that the rumors about a possible sale of the club are out of the blue. The owner of Ghelamco remains the strong man.
