The nicest stadium in the Netherlands is located in Delft

The nicest stadium in the Netherlands is not in Rotterdam, Amsterdam or Eindhoven. And not in Enschede, Deventer or Breda. Call it a sports park, complex or stadium, the best one is really in Delft. The Brasserkade is a monumental stadium with fantastic standing stands and an enormous main stand. This nostalgic temple is still the home of DHC Delft and can accommodate as many as 18,000 supporters. Every football fan must go here at least once.

If you ask the average football fan in the Netherlands whether they are familiar with the Brasserkade, seventy percent will have no idea. And that is unfair. With a capacity of 18,000 spectators, this stadium is more than large by Dutch standards; if you do a little math, you can easily accommodate 20,000 supporters. This puts Delft’s Brasserkade in the top 10 of the largest stadiums in the Netherlands. And that is more than special when you consider that DHC plays in the very lowest regions of amateur football.

Known name

DHC Delft (Delfia Hollandia Combination) had its glory years in the 1950s and 1960s, in which it played in the First Division and also had a taste of the Eredivisie. It was the pride of the city and thousands of supporters were welcomed to the stadium every week. Yet the club collapsed in financial disarray. A merger with Xerxes from Rotterdam quickly came to an end and both clubs went bankrupt. The clubs then continued separately in amateur football. The stadium was sold out several more times in spectacular cup matches against Ajax, among others, but otherwise a way up was never found.

DHC Delft currently plays in the Second Division Saturday D, the depths of amateur football and no one has been coming to the stadium for years. When I look around me during my visit in December 2023, I can count the spectators on one hand. And that will undoubtedly be related to the football players on the field.

De Brasserkade Stadium

It is amazing how untouched this stadium has remained, because this is absolutely unique in the Netherlands. There are very few pearls from the distant past and yet DHC Delft has always survived the selection process. Of course because of the lack of money, but you will just have a municipality that tells you that you have to make way for housing construction. That has not been the case here. The ticket boxes, standing stands, main stand, canteen, prizes and scoreboard. Everything is still there and it breathes history. With the exception of one small part of the stadium, where a few green seats have been pushed down, it is as if time has stood still here for fifty years.

The charm of the faded glory is everywhere. Upon entering you will encounter two walls with photos of former players such as Wilco van Buren, Hans Suiker, Julian Jenner and Regi Blinker. The Familie Schreuders main stand is surrounded by beautiful, extensive stands that are eaten by weeds. These remaining standing stands are second to none. It feels like Eastern Europe, standing around without a roof and carrying on. As it should. That is still possible here, but no longer in the rest of the Netherlands. If you enter the enormous Elascon stand, be careful not to make a mistake between the large wooden planks, otherwise you will fall meters down. During the climb you will come across a booth at the top where the commentator used to report. The loft has been completely destroyed. The windows have been smashed and shards of glass are still on the floor inside.

The canteen is perhaps the most beautiful I have ever seen in the Netherlands. It is more of a brown pub. Some supporters drink beer and look outside from the canteen. DHC plays a match against Neptunus-Schiebroek. It’s cold outside, so it’s understandable to choose to sit inside and enjoy the nostalgia. There are newspaper articles and team photos on the wall, supplemented with prizes in display cases and other showpieces. All the great times of DHC can be found here.

New Age

The new chairman of DHC Delft has been in place since last year wallpaper king John van Zweden, the famous Hagenees who once owned Swansea City. Partly due to his actions, DHC started the current season with a first, second and -23 team. Previously, the club had difficulty fielding one team. Now the number of members is up and major sponsors are willing to support the club. However, not everything was all roses when John was appointed, because the most terrible things were said. An anonymous person had secretly sent an email to all members, telling them that he was, among other things, a blowhard and a racist. But John wouldn’t be John if he showed perseverance and decisively took the bull by the horns. He wants to return DHC to where it belongs, to the top of amateur football. And maybe more.

But first DHC must become the pride of Delft again. Climb up the ladder step by step with positivity, fun and hard work. That is the current atmosphere at DHC. Immerse yourself in a stadium that has not fallen victim to modern times. A stadium with beautiful stands, a brown pub as a canteen and a main stand that is about to collapse. Everyone should visit the Brasserkade, the nicest stadium in the Netherlands, at least once in their life. Otherwise you really can’t call yourself a stadium fan.