SC Cambuur: Pop Art — Terrace Edition

Words: Han Balk

Images: Han Balk

No matter how much players embrace the norms and values of your club or how often goal-scorers kiss the club emblem, club DNA is found in many things—but not in footballers.

It is the supporters who make the club and shape its identity over the years.

But what about the stadium? A stadium, especially one that has stood for a long time, surely holds a piece of the club’s DNA as well?

And what happens when your club decides to leave the old location behind and build a hypermodern home on an industrial estate?

As a Go Ahead Eagles supporter, I am not an expert on this matter. After all, we have been playing for nearly 125 years on what is widely regarded as the ultimate football street in the Netherlands: Vetkampstraat.

The reconstruction of two stands ten years ago was something I welcomed with open arms. A renovation in which nostalgia and club DNA were not overlooked—if only because of the gable on the main stand and the use of bricks.

But to be honest, I don’t know how I will feel when the other two stands from the 1960s disappear in the coming years. Once large standing terraces, they are now a seated stand and a safe-standing section behind the goal.

Tonight, we are in Leeuwarden, where Cambuur faces Telstar in the new Kooi Stadion on the outskirts of the city. With 130,000 inhabitants, Leeuwarden is the capital of the province of Friesland.

From the outset, enthusiasm for a new stadium on the edge of the city was not very high.

After all, the old ground was located in the heart of a working-class neighborhood, and moving to the city’s outskirts "hurts," as supporters' group Cambuur Culture stated on their website at the time.

Of course, such a move doesn’t happen overnight, and in Leeuwarden, this was a process spanning about ten years.

The relocation from the old Cambuur Stadion finally took place at the beginning of this season, but it was far from smooth.

There were significant financial setbacks, and a gap of more than €13 million had to be filled.

The plan was to deliver the stadium in a playable state and complete it afterward.

And so, here we are on this Friday evening at the Kooi Stadion.

The first impression is positive. It looks like a stadium, and the Kooi Stadion even has floodlights.

Perhaps it’s the characteristic open corners that keep it from resembling a shopping mall.

Even if the yellow and blue of Cambuur had been used a little more prominently, you wouldn’t feel like you were in the parking lot of a Swedish furniture store, where you could pick up a bookshelf and a plate of Swedish meatballs with fries on a Friday night.

We arranged to meet up two hours before the match with Zoltan and Emko, Supporters Liaison Officers of Cambuur Leeuwarden.

We already knew the stadium wasn’t finished, but seeing that the business stand was still a complete construction site was a surprise.

Zoltan and Emko took us through loose wiring, piles of insulation material, and bare walls. We walked through areas where normally only construction workers would be allowed, wearing helmets and safety shoes

Apart from a few business lounges, only the dressing rooms were nearly finished.

From the western main stand, we moved to the north stand. In the dark, a few colored lights flash, and a heavy blast of music pours from the speakers. Across from the temporary bar, a DJ is warming up. Here, too, there is still a lot of work to be done in the new supporters' home, located behind the section with the most passionate fans.

The other two stands, however, are a completely different story. Apart from a few minor adjustments, they are fully completed. It’s quite remarkable that Cambuur chose to finish these stands first before working on the business stand.

The away section, due to safety regulations, is also entirely completed and can immediately be ranked among the best away sections in the Netherlands.

Because the plans had been in place for ten years, most supporters have already adapted, according to Zoltan and Emko. But it still feels like a new house—the Cambuur DNA isn’t quite there yet.

Zoltan: “To make it truly yours, you need to win a big match here and also suffer a crushing defeat. You need to have danced on the tables to celebrate something.”

Only then will it truly be your stadium and your second home. Until then, Cambuur still has plenty of work left in finishing the stadium. A modern stadium that, even at this stage, already proves that not all new stadiums are devoid of atmosphere.

Just before the match, we took our seats in the north stand and saw Telstar take the lead. But in the second half, Cambuur Leeuwarden turned it around: 2-1.

A change from the old masters but there can be pop art at SC Cambuur maybe.