Where in Zuidas
It was a long, drawn-out process involving the establishment of a completely new sports park for the Amsterdam Football Club (AFC). The old sports pitches had to be moved slightly to the north in order to make space for the new Ravel residential neighbourhood. Sportpark Goed Genoeg – which has kept its original name – went from seven to five pitches and was given a brand-new and sustainable clubhouse. There was a long six-year wait between the original agreement and the eventual relocation of the last pitch. So, the fact that it is now possible to play game football on the fifth pitch can only be described as a milestone.
Community function
Now that the five AFC pitches are neatly lined up in a row alongside the A10 – whereas previously they were at various angles between the motorway and De Boelelaan – space has been created on the southern side for the new, low-traffic Ravel residential district. On it, we intend to build around 1,350 homes, mainly for people with children, set in a green environment. Sportpark Goed Genoeg has been specially designed to play a connecting role for the new neighbourhood. Although its main tenant and user is the AFC, the sports park is actually owned by the City of Amsterdam. The ultimate aim is for the park to also offer sports facilities to schools and clubs in the neighbourhood.
Logistical puzzle
The fact that it took so long for the completion of the fifth pitch is because of the complex logistical puzzle we had to solve. Since it had to remain possible for AFC to play football on the pitches throughout the relocation process, we had to do it in phases over several years. Zuidas is also a very complex area in which to work: we are working with numerous other parties on the construction of a complete urban neighbourhood in a relatively small and congested space. At times, that means making space for each other. This is why the final AFC pitch could only be landscaped after the tower cranes – used to complete work on the immediately adjacent Valley – had been removed. The first of the five pitches was already in its new position back in 2018. A year later, the contractor began work on the other four pitches and 2020 also saw the completion of the new clubhouse.
Ecological canal wall
In the last few months, we have been building an ecological canal wall between the final, most westerly AFC pitch and Valley. This is part of the canal that we are creating all the way around the sports park. The wall is built from stone paving blocks, offset in various places to make it possible for plants to be added. Behind the blocks, there is a layer of substrate that supplies water to the plants. If it works effectively, there will be clouds of vegetation growing on the wall, providing a habitat for insects, etc. This part of the canal has now been filled with water. The canal on the southern side of Goed Genoeg that separates the sports park from the residential neighbourhood will be filled at a later stage. We will also be building a wide footbridge across it connecting the residential neighbourhood with the sports park.
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