The Stade du Vivier d'Oie (), meaning "Goose Pond Stadium", is a stadium in the municipality of

Uccle Uccle (French language, French, ) or Ukkel (Dutch language, Dutch, ) is one of the List of municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the southern part of the region, it ...

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

, Belgium. The stadium lies in the ''Quartier Vivier d'Oie'' (Dutch: ''Diesdellewijk''), at the margin of the

Sonian Forest The Sonian Forest or Sonian Wood (, ; , ) is a forest at the south-eastern edge of Brussels, Belgium. It is connected to the Bois de la Cambre, Bois de la Cambre/Ter Kamerenbos, an urban public park which enters the city up to from the Pentag ...

. In the first half of the 20th century, the football club

Racing Club de Bruxelles Koninklijke Football Club Rhodienne-De Hoek is a Belgian association football club based in Sint-Genesius-Rode, Flemish Brabant. The club was created in 1894 as Racing Football Club. It became a member of the Royal Belgian Football Associatio ...

played there.

History

was founded at the end of the 19th century. The club played in

Koekelberg Koekelberg (; ) is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the north-western part of the region, it is bordered by Berchem-Sainte-Agathe, Ganshoren, Jette, and Molenbeek-Saint-Jean. In common with al ...

in its early years and then moved to the Longchamps

velodrome A velodrome is an arena for track cycling. Modern velodromes feature steeply banked oval tracks, consisting of two 180-degree circular bends connected by two straights. The straights transition to the circular turn through a moderate easement ...

. In 1901, the club, which was one of the top clubs in Belgium at the time, decided to build a new stadium, and in 1902, it moved to Vivier d'Oie, on the outskirts of the

. There, a stadium with a side building and club house were built. The main stand was made in

reinforced concrete Reinforced concrete, also called ferroconcrete or ferro-concrete, is a composite material in which concrete's relatively low tensile strength and ductility are compensated for by the inclusion of reinforcement having higher tensile strength or ...

. This was an innovative technique for that time, which was only used in stadiums in England. It was one of the first covered stands that was not made of wood. The stadium was opened in 1902, and on 1 May 1904, the

Belgium national football team The Belgium national football team has represented Belgium in men's international Association football, football since Évence Coppée Trophy, their maiden match in 1904. The squad is under the global jurisdiction of FIFA and is governed in E ...

played its first official football match against

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

(3–3). After the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, the stadium also became a sports ground for

field hockey Field hockey (or simply referred to as hockey in some countries where ice hockey is not popular) is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with 11 players in total, made up of 10 field players and a goalk ...

. In 1923, a cottage was built, designed by the local architect Fritz Seeldraeyers. During the

interbellum In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period, also known as the interbellum (), lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days) – from the end of World War I (WWI) to the beginning of World War II ( ...

, the decorated concrete entrance gate was erected with the inscription "ROYAL RACING CLUB DE BRUXELLES". After the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the club's football section was promoted to the highest football division, and the stadium could no longer handle the influx of spectators. Therefore, the club decided to move the athletics and football sections to the newly constructed Drie Linden Stadion in

Watermael-Boitsfort Watermael-Boitsfort (French language, French, ) or Watermaal-Bosvoorde (Dutch language, Dutch, ; ), often simply called Boitsfort in French or Bosvoorde in Dutch, is one of the List of municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, 19 municipal ...

. The football section ran into financial problems, and in 1963, it split from Racing Club de Bruxelles and merged with another club. The hockey and tennis sections continued to play in the Stade du Vivier d'Oie. In 1963, a new club house was built. In 2010, the

Belgian Government The Federal Government of Belgium ( ; ; ) exercises executive power in the Kingdom of Belgium. It consists of ministers and secretaries of state ("junior", or deputy-ministers who do not sit in the Council of Ministers) drawn from the polit ...

listed the sports complex as a

protected monument In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

References

External links

Vergane Glorie - Stadion de Ganzenvijver
{{in lang, nl – history and photos Sports venues completed in 1902 Football venues in Brussels Uccle Royal Racing Club Bruxelles