The Black Forest's Bundesliga representatives SC Freiburg were hoping to move into their new SC-Stadion in time for the start of next season but as we reported last August - like so many other things - COVID-19 has thrown a significant spanner in the works and further delayed the stadium's completion date.
The 'Breisgau-Brazilians' played would should have been their final home match in the Schwarzwald-Stadion against Rekordmeisters Bayern München on Saturday but issued a statement ahead of the game confirming that the pandemic has affected the progress of the stadium construction. The release went on to say that all parties are doing "everything in their power" to ensure the new stadium is completed as quickly as possible but although the intention is to kick-off next season at their new stadium, the first few home games of the 2021-22 campaign may have to be played at the Schwarzwald-Stadion if progress continues to be delayed. Structurally, the 34,700-capacity stadium in Wolfswinkel is ready with the vast majority of installation work completed. However, interior design and 'technical' issues stand out, sadly with no further detail at the time of writing. The project was contracted to cost €76 million, which might be subject to change as the delay keeps growing.
The club stressed that “every day will count", but if Freiburg do have to play matches at the Schwarzwald-Stadion next season, depending on the COVID-19 situation at the time, it's likely tickets will be allocated on a lottery basis to decide who gets the opportunity to experience one of the Bundesliga's few remaining old-school grounds one last time.
Freiburg were dealt a left-field blow back in September when after complaints from local residents, the Baden-Württemberg Administrative Court ruled that any Bundesliga matches played at the new stadium after 8pm or between 1-3pm on Sundays would be banned. An exemption was made however for evening and Sunday matches on the proviso that these are cup games in either domestic or European competition. Freiburg said at the time that they were confident the ruling would be overturned. Image: SC Freiburg