FC Twente is evaluating potential long-term expansion plans for De Grolsch Veste that could push the stadium’s capacity anywhere from 40,000 to 44,000 seats. General director Dominique Scholten warns that structural hurdles make filling in the stadium’s corner graches a distant and complex prospect. The club initially weighed completing the stadium’s second tier to add 10,000 seats and reach a 40,000-seat threshold. Ambitious internal discussions have since considered a broader overhaul of up to 14,000 additional seats from the current 30,000 baseline.
Evaluating Long-Term Growth at De Grolsch Veste
Waiting Lists and a Seven-Year Horizon
That prospective growth eclipses the total capacity of regional rival Heracles, whose Erve Asito stadium accommodates 12,242 supporters. Yet any major construction project remains years away from breaking ground. Scholten projects that completing an expansion of this scale would take seven to eight years on the earliest timeline, targeting completion around 2033 or 2034. That timeline offers little immediate relief for the approximately 9,000 supporters currently lingering on the club’s waiting list for a season ticket.
The Debate Over Bridging the Stadium Moat
Rather than building upward by extending the second tier, club officials and external designers have occasionally debated whether the tribunes could be extended forward across the surrounding stadium moat—known locally as the gracht—directly toward the playing surface. While past assessments labeled the concept impossible, Scholten acknowledges it remains a theoretical option, albeit an impractical one under current conditions.
Addressing the prospect during an appearance on the regional podcast De Ballen Verstand, Scholten explained the trade-offs involved in altering the venue’s core architecture. “Are the moats going to be built over? I saw it more as an option,” Scholten said. “It is not a realistic option for us, but it might still be possible. Only there you are also going to make a lot of concessions to what the stadium looks like and how we experience it together. So it is not a realistic option for us at the moment. Whether it can be done? I think it’s difficult, but I’m not an expert in construction and all those matters. Then you really get a different football stadium. It’s not an option now.”
When prodded about whether the club should commission a formal feasibility study, Scholten responded with a lighthearted caveat. “Also still? We keep investigating,” he said with a laugh.
Architectural Visions and International Ambitions
The concept of bridging the moat has also been championed by IAA Architecten, the firm that partnered with FC Twente during previous expansions of De Grolsch Veste. Outlining the next logical steps for stadium growth, the architectural firm noted that fully closing the second tier by incorporating the north side and roofing the moat could lift De Grolsch Veste to 40,000 seats—a capacity the firm argues would be large enough to host international finals.
Logistical Roadblocks and Safety Protocols
Executing such a plan involves significant engineering hurdles beyond simply installing extra rows of seating. The open strip directly in front of the lower tribunes serves as a critical circulation artery inside De Grolsch Veste. The space functions as a primary pedestrian loop, grants spectator access to specific seating blocks, houses essential catering kiosks, and forms an indispensable component of the venue’s safety and emergency evacuation protocols.
Should FC Twente pursue a design that pushes the stands closer to the pitch, that entire logistical infrastructure would require a complete redesign. Engineers would also need to account for the stadium’s underlying structural load-bearing capacity and protect the playing surface. The pitch itself underwent a comprehensive overhaul in 2024, a project that installed modern drainage systems and updated field heating.
While bridging the stadium moats remains technically feasible, the process demands a massive structural renovation rather than a straightforward seating addition. For now, club leadership intends to weigh its long-term ambitions against the practical realities of stadium logistics, fan experience, and a lengthy multi-year construction horizon.
Related reading
