It was supposed to be open in time for the new season before COVID-19 threw a significant spanner in the works and although no-one can say for certain when SC Freiburg will finally make the move to their new home, this much we now do know: opening in 2020 is out of the question. Sporting director Jochen Saier and coach Christian Streich confirmed the news today with both suggesting the Breisgau-Brazilians (Breisgau-Brazilians) will stay at the Schwarzwald Stadion for the time being and won't play their first game at the new SC Freiburg Stadium until after the winter break - providing of course there's no further issues caused by the virus.
Construction of the stadium, which has been underway since March 29th 2019, had initially progressed as planned and the stands are reportedly complete with railings installed across the single-tiered south stand. The roof is 75% complete with just one stand yet to be covered. Parking and training fields on the complex are in place and work on the tram line extension is at an advanced stage. However, the project to build the €76 million stadium in the Wolfswinkel district of the city is now months behind schedule with COVID-19 being blamed for the supply chain delays in the construction of the mostly prefab stadium. Given that there is no certainly at the moment that fans will actually be allowed into stadiums when the new season kicks-off on the 18th of September, the delay may not be a major problem - but as part of the stadium licensing process with the DFB, Freiburg have listed both the old Schwarzwald Stadion and the new stadium on their application. Ironically, the delay may also give Freiburg's fans the chance to bid farewell to their old home - something that has been denied to them as the final weeks of football season in Germany were played out behind closed doors.