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KRC Genk builds new training center with Carbstone

Racing Genk has officially kicked off construction of its new, state-of-the-art H. Essers Training Center. The walls of the complex will be built with CO2-negative and 100% recyclable Carbstone blocks. Genk’s new training complex is scheduled for completion in late 2026 and will feature a rehabilitation pool, fitness, infrared sauna and ice baths in addition to three hybrid and heated soccer fields.

The plan for the training center on the Opglabbeker Sablon has been on the table for nearly 15 years. It is part of the master plan with which the club wants to get ready for the coming decades. “It is immediately a starting point and an end point,” said president Peter Croonen at the presentation of the training center that is aligned with the Cegeka Arena. “We have been working on this for several years. Today we start the first realization.”

The new training center should enable the A core to train at a higher level. “That’s the main reason for this project but it also means that the B and C fields, where the A core trains, will move here allowing a conduit to the nearby Thor Park that we can’t connect with today.”

The training center was presented Tuesday afternoon using a 3D animation. The new complex will have an indoor hall of 1,400 square meters, an indoor pool with adjustable bottom, a 150-square-meter locker room and an auditorium of more than a hundred square meters. The players are especially looking forward to their new gymnasium. The current gym is in a bunker under the stadium, with no windows. “The new gym is going to be quite an improvement,” said Head of Football Dimitri de Condé. “There is also going to be a lot of focus on the fields. We’re going to have three hybrid fields that are heated. That’s necessary anyway with the winter rush.”

If all goes according to plan, the Genk A nucleus will move into the new facilities during the 2026-2027 season.

Source: Het Laatste Nieuws, Jan. 29, 2025