Why was Feyenoord City deemed unviable, and is there a chance of the project being revived?
Why was the Feyenoord City project cancelled last month, and is there any chance that the project might still be built if circumstances change? This short explainer, a follow-up to my article outlining the background of the Feyenoord City project, seeks to answer these two questions.
Budget issues
The Feyenoord City development was set out as a tight collaboration between the Gemeente (Municipality) Rotterdam and Feyenoord, with the club being reliant on the municipal administration both for a portion of the project’s financing and for building permission. Earlier this year, the Rotterdam Gemeenteraad (Municipal Council) set a deadline of 31 December for Feyenoord to both secure all financing for the construction of the new ground and to agree a contract with the builder of the new stadium, two conditions which Feyenoord in the end were unable to fulfil.
Increased Building Costs
Chief among the reasons for Feyenoord’s inability to kick on with the building of the new stadium was the increased cost of the raw materials with which the structure was to be built. The shortage of raw materials in the wake of the pandemic meant the building costs would come in at €180 million more than the €444 million budgeted by the club, while Feyenoord would also be responsible for any potential further increases in building costs incurred during the building process. This steep increase in price made it impossible for the club to give the new stadium the green light ahead of the deadline at the end of 2021.
Difficulties finding Investors
Feyenoord’s troubles in financing the new stadium were worsened by their struggle to find investors to provide the project with financial muscle. While Goldman Sachs and ING both signed on as sponsors when Feyenoord announced their intention to move into a new ground on the banks of the Maas in 2017, and the Gemeente Rotterdam was set to inject a further €40 million into the realisation of the new stadium, the total financing raised still fell €140 million short of the €440 million for which the stadium had been budgeted, per a Deloitte report from April this year. While the club had actively been courting investors to try and secure the requisite funding, their search was hindered by the reluctance of investors to attach themselves to the project after several supporters of Feyenoord City- including the club’s then-General Director Mark Koevermans and Commercial Director Joris van Dijk- had been threatened by hooligans opposed to the project. As a result, it is unclear whether Feyenoord would have been able to stump up the budgeted €440 million if the increased cost of raw materials had not rendered that ambition moot.
Chance of Revival?
Despite the decision not to press on with the plan of opening the new ground in time for the 2025/26 season, the ambition to build a new stadium overhanging the Maas has not been abandoned by the club and the city. As things currently stand, the viability of the new stadium will be re-evaluated by the club next summer, with the hope being that building prices have decreased to a sufficient extent that the project can be set back on course. And even without the stadium as centrepiece, the rest of the development- with flats, shops, restaurants and other amenities- is set to go through, which makes the eventual construction of the new ground more likely. At the same time, Feyenoord are once again reviewing the possibility of renovating De Kuip. Uncertainty rules, and will do for at least the next six months.
Inthehalfspace 