Vanhout delivers world-class sports complex with velodrome in Belgium

At the end of October, the long-awaited sports complex in Heusden-Zolder (Belgium) officially opened its doors to the general public. Vanhout, part of BESIX Group, and partner Houben NV realised this unique complex - with a wooden cycling track - on behalf of non-profit organisation Sportcomplex Vlaanderen Heusden-Zolder. The contract included the design, build and maintenance of the project.

World-class performances

The 15,000 m² sports complex offers everything an athlete, both recreational and competitive, needs. The eye catcher, however, is undoubtedly the 250-metre-long wooden cycling track, also called a velodrome. It’s the second velodrome in Flanders that is homologated by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) and aims at hosting international competitions and tournaments, such as the World Championship. A stand has been foreseen around the cycling track with a capacity of 1,000 permanent seats, as well as space for temporary stands for a further 1,000 spectators. In the central area, there are four sports pitches for different types of other sports, such as basketball, indoor football and badminton.

Additionally, the complex includes different other types of services, such as meeting rooms, an area for bicycle lockers and hire, an exercise lab and catering facilities. The modern gymnastics hall of 1.000 m² and fully equipped medical centre for the adjacent Zolder Circuit are the icing on the cake.

Tight schedule and huge roof structure

The project incorporated a number of crucial specific elements. Firstly, the partners mainly opted for prefabricated materials in the design to ensure that the sports complex would be completed within the tight predefined timeframe. Moreover, the installation of the 78-metre steel roof trusses was one of the main challenges in the project. Because of their length, they were delivered on-site in three pieces, where they were lifted piece by piece with the use of three mobile cranes. Once lifted, they were put together to form a single truss. This was a real feat, of which the execution required good coordination, both on-site and during the material delivery process.

Design, Build, Maintenance

In 2021, Sportcomplex Vlaanderen Heusden-Zolder awarded the contract, which included the design, build and maintenance, to a team consisting of Vanhout and Houben NV. Other partners were dbv architecten and AVAPARTNERS, SWECO, Velotrack International, Cluster landschap & stedenbouw and Bureau de Fonseca. Lastly, ComTIS Services, an entity of Vanhout, is responsible for maintaining the technical installations in the next 15 years.

Various top athletes are already training three times a week at the velodrome and the preparatory trainings for the Olympic Games are planned there. Moreover, professional cycling teams in Germany and the Netherlands have expressed their interest in using the velodrome for their trainings as well.

“During the realisation of this unique project, we were confronted with difficult circumstances following the Covid-19 crisis, the war in Ukraine and the energy crisis in Belgium. I’m incredibly proud that we’ve successfully completed the project despite these factors. This is the result of strong teamwork between the different partners.” - Bert Lenaerts, Managing Director Vanhout