NEC will not play in Goffert Stadium after stands collapse

NEC will not be playing its home games in the Goffert Stadium in Nijmegen for the time being, the football club announced on Tuesday. The ODRN environment service and the municipality of Nijmegen, which owns the stadium, decided to keep the stadium closed while the collapse of part of the stands on Sunday is investigated, NU.nl reports.

The stadium's main building, which consists of the reception, offices, and catering, will remain open. The municipality commissioned an external agency to inspect the stadium. The ODRN will map out which checks were carried out there in the past period and whether anything was missed.

"We understand the choice of the municipality to close the stadium until further notice. It is important to us that a thorough investigation is carried out, whereby the safety of everyone in the stadium must be guaranteed in the future," NEC spokesperson Nick van der Cammen said. "At the same time, this decision means that we will look for an external location to finish our matches - at least for the short term. The talks with other clubs and the KNVB started yesterday because we were prepared for this."

NEC's next home game is on Sunday, October 31, against FC Groningen, and then again a week later on November 6 against sc Heerenveen.

The Nijmegen club's current situation is comparable to AZ's in 2019 when part of the AFAS stadium's roof collapsed. During the repairs, AZ played its home matches in the ADO Den Haag stadium.