‘This rent cannot be coughed up’

• Sander Maassen van den Brink

  Follows Vitesse for NOS Sport

A roof that can open and close and an extendable field. Vitesse was once as happy as a child with the then revolutionary Gelredome stadium. But now, about 26 years after its opening, Gelredome has become a nuisance.

This is due to Vitesse’s relegation to the first division. If the Arnhem club retains the professional license, the budget must be halved. This means that there is less income and then the rent that Vitesse now pays annually is suddenly a major problem.

Because how do you cough up 2.4 million euros per year as a first division club?

“Not. That is unacceptable. The rent is ridiculously high,” says interim Vitesse director Edwin Reijntjes. “All together we pay almost three million euros to Gelredome. A stadium rental of 1.5 million euros was already unaffordable at ADO Den Haag in the first division.”

The Arnhem club also has itself to blame for the fact that the rent is so high. In 2018, then director Joost de Wit terminated the lease; He thought the price at the time (1.8 million euros) was far too high. For years, Vitesse let the situation take its course, until the contract actually expired last year.

Vitesse and Gelredome owner Nedstede ended up in court to resolve the rental dispute. Because Vitesse could lose its license if it did not have a stadium available, the club ultimately concluded a new contract with a higher rental price under great pressure.

Michael van de Kuit is the owner of Nedstede. He sees Vitesse struggling with the rent, but does not simply intend to give a rent reduction.

“Vitesse always thought the rent was too high. But if as a club you still employ 110 FTE employees and flush a lot of money down the drain, then I think the club should first reorganize.”

“They have to halve the staff, say goodbye to expensive foreign players and take a critical look at (the remuneration of) the management. Restructuring is necessary first. I don’t want to reward them for the chaos they have created.”

Yet the owner does not completely close the door on the club. “If they have taken all the steps mentioned, then I want to see the financial picture at the end of the day. If they still have a deficit of a few thousand euros, then I would be happy to play a role. But really last but not least step ahead of Vitesse, they shouldn’t start with me.”

You would think: Van de Kuit has no use for a stadium where the main tenant cannot pay the rent? That is partly correct, because Gelredome also generates income from concerts and events that take place there.

“Van de Kuit is right,” says Vitesse director Reijntjes. “Vitesse needs Gelredome more than the other way around.”

But it is also not the case that extra concerts can simply be scheduled if the club leaves. The permit provides space for 24 concerts per year, two nightly dance events and six ‘exceptional events’, such as Monster Jam.

What should happen next for Vitesse? “An investor who wants to help Vitesse and sees that three million immediately goes to the Gelredome will not find that interesting either. The best scenario is if a party comes along that has the stadium and club in one hand, then you can also make money. with the club,” says Reijntjes.

The Nedstede owner now says that he is still interested in buying the club. There are just several obstacles that need to be cleared. A chain clause is one of them.

When Vitesse was also on the verge of collapse in 2003 and was saved, the province of Gelderland stipulated that Gelredome may not be sold to a professional football club. If that ban is violated, 11 million euros must be paid to the province.

“We have now tried six times to ask the deputy whether we also have to pay the 11 million if we take over the club,” says Van de Kuit. “We are not getting a clear answer.”

“They always refer us to the text of the chain clause, but that is written from Vitesse’s perspective. We have informed the province that we will cease our interest until the provincial employees let us know that the clause does not apply to us.”

In addition, Van de Kuit has another major demand. “If we want to be part of the rescue, we must be able to look behind the scenes of Vitesse and know what the figures are and what the plan is for the coming years.”