SC Freiburg were set to move into the SC Freiburg stadium in time for the 2020-21 season - but like so many other things, the Coronavirus pandemic has put these plans on hold and now both the club and the city of Freiburg have confirmed that the new stadium won't be ready for months ... and may not even host football until the back end of next year !
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, which was supposed to open in a few weeks time, is now months behind schedule. No-one seems to be able to say for certain just how many months, but the general consensus amongst those involved say that December 2020 is considered a realistic delivery time as COVID-19 is 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 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.