City of Brussels starts building work on new Sports Park at Heysel

The City of Brussels has kicked off the construction of its future Sports Park at Heysel plateau as part of its Neo project, a new economic, tourist, leisure and housing area on the site.

Work on the new €52 million sports hub begins after 10 years of preparations, reports Belga. Its construction at the foot of the King Baudouin Stadium requires an additional eleven hectares of green space.

Brussels mayor Philippe Close (PS), Brussels minister-president Boris Dilliès (MR) and the first alderwoman for sports, Florence Frelinx (MR), laid the foundation stone for the future 21-hectare complex on Friday.

It will feature a 400-meter athletics track, a hybrid rugby and football pitch, one-and-a-half hockey pitches and various multi-sport facilities, as well as green spaces and a reflecting pool.

The athletics facilities will also serve as a warm-up area for the annual Van Damme Memorial meeting and support Brussels' bid to host the European Championships in 2030.

The site’s Planetarium will be preserved and integrated into the future Sports Park, while the Tricot building is due to be extended to house a cafeteria, operational spaces for the sports facilities and the headquarters of the Belgian Olympic Committee.

This park represents one of the first concrete steps in the redevelopment of the Heysel plateau, which will transform it into a more mixed-use, greener and better-connected district that combines sports facilities, public spaces, housing, shops and conference infrastructure.

The Sports Park is partially funded by a €50.6 million loan from the Brussels-Capital Region.

Six notable Belgian female athletes will have paths in the future park after them: Nafissatou Thiam, Léa Bayekula, Élodie Ouédraogo, Olivia Borlée, Hanna Mariën and Kim Gevaert.

Photo: ©City of Brussels