Now that FC Emmen has been promoted to the Eredivisie, café owners in the centre of Emmen are concerned about rival fans coming to town for matches next season.
Translation by Traci White
Emmen mayor Eric van Oosterhout told RTV Drenthe that he understands cafes that are concerned about visiting fans getting out of hand. “We will not be broadcasting the matches on a big screen at the Raadhuisplein, and there will only be a couple bars airing the matches on indoor screens”, Van Oosterhout says.
The FC Emmen stadium only has room for 400 fans, and the bars and restaurants in the city are worried that the spill over fans may descend on the city centre. Only a handful of cafes will broadcast the matches, and those that do will be able to screen patrons at the door and can choose whether or not to let someone in.
Security
The first home matches in August in the Eredivisie will be treated as high risk events because the municipality is not sure what to expect. “There’s a big difference between 2,000 fans showing up and 8,000 fans”, says Van Oosterhout. “That also means a big difference in terms of parking, access routes and receiving all of them.”
There are already plans in the works to improve security at the stadium, including additional cameras and a new system at entrance access points. The province of Drenthe has earmarked 500,000 euros to carry out the planned upgrades, but the municipality of Emmen itself is not paying into any changes because the stadium does not belong to them.
