Opened in 1975, Jan Breydel Stadium was built for the city of Bruges to provide a shared home for the two local football clubs – Club Brugge KV and Cercle Brugge KSV.
Back then, the venue had the capacity for around 30,000 fans, though this was mostly standing only. In the 1990s, the terraces were equipped with seating, which saw the capacity reduce to under 20,000, however, following its selection as a venue for Euro 2000, plans were put in place to expand two stands and refurbish the other two. The work was completed in 1999, leaving the stadium with a seated capacity of 29,042.
Interestingly, the ground was originally called Olympiastadion, however, in order to qualify for subsidies from the Flanders government, a more Flemish name was required, which led to the decision to change the name to Jan Breydel Stadium – named after a folk hero from 14th Century Bruges.
During the Euro 2000 tournament, Jan Breydel Stadium hosted three group matches and the quarter-final between France and Spain. Nowadays, it is still home to both Club Brugge and Cercle Brugge, however, it was due an upgrade, with the audio system, courtesy of Funktion-One, being first on the agenda.
