VVO: Woodwork — Terrace Edition

Words: Niek Jansen

Images: Niek Jansen

Wooden stands. Many football fans love them, and although they’re scarce these days, there are certainly still some beautiful wooden stands.

Several beautiful wooden grandstands can still be found in the eastern Netherlands. For example, VVO Velp, playing in the ninth tier of Dutch football, has a magnificent stand on the edge of Veluwezoom National Park.

The accommodation can certainly be considered one of the most beautiful in the Netherlands.

The impressive wooden grandstand of VVO Velp has been in use for almost 90 years, since 1939.

The history of the Velpse Voetbalvereniging Olympia, however, goes back long before 1939. The club was founded on March 3, 1901 and was one of the first football clubs in the region of Arnhem, the city south of Velp.

©Niek Jansen/ Terrace Edition. VVO Velp.

Although VVO is a Velps club, it has had strong ties with the neighbouring village of Rozendaal from the very beginning.

One of the founders of VVO was Baron Reinhard Jan Christiaan van Pallandt, the son of the lord of Rosendael Castle. Baron van Pallandt donated a piece of land to VVO, and in gratitude, VVO began playing in the club colors of yellow and black, the Pallandt family colours.

Yellow and black are also found in the family crest. Baron van Pallandt was a true driving force behind the club and would later be appointed an honorary member of the club.

The club developed well after its founding, and a beautiful wooden stand was built fairly quickly. It has been in use since 1939 and seats approximately 400 spectators.

The grandstand is in good condition, partly due to renovation work carried out years ago. The stand has been called the Arnold de Reus Tribune since mid-2019. Arnold de Reus had been a volunteer at VVO Velp for 50 (!) years in 2019 and was also active as a goalkeeper for VVO Velp’;s first team.

VVO Velp has enjoyed some successful years, playing for a few seasons in the Second Division (the seventh tier of the Netherlands) in the 1970s, sometimes attracting thousands of spectators to Sportpark De Pinkenberg.

The team never played higher than the seventh tier and has played in the eighth or ninth tier in recent years, and public interest has waned considerably.

This also became clear during my visit in early October, although the rainy and windy weather probably didn’;t help matters.

This season, VVO is playing in the Fourth Division (ninth tier) for the second consecutive season. On a drizzly Sunday afternoon, they faced CCW’16 from Wilp, who had lost their first two league matches.

VVO went into the match with three points from two matches. Despite it being a match between teams not ranked high in the league, I was really looking forward to it!

You reach Sportpark De Pinkenberg through a beautiful wooded area, and upon arrival, the magnificent grandstand immediately catches your eye. The (new) ticket box at the entrance is hermetically sealed, making admission free, even though the price for adults is €3.

That’s a shame in a way; I’m happy to support a club with such facilities, so I compensated for that in the canteen, which, incidentally, is built next to the grandstand.

Besides the grandstand, the old ticket booth on the other side is also striking. Fortunately, these are still there, and the trees surrounding the venue make it all the more beautiful. From the stands you have a good view of the field and the wooden benches are not at all bad for a match.

Although fifty spectators isn’t much, I didn’t mind that much this time, as the complex more than compensated.

However, the match between VVO and CCW’16 was worth watching and was excellent.

VVO started well and led 2-0 at half-time. The second half saw their performance struggle, and after the 2-1 goal, things got a bit tense, but VVO held on, and the supporters left the stands feeling good.

Sport Park De Pinkenberg, Rozendaal. A must-visit for fans of traditional (wooden) stands!