AZ Alkmaar has relocated its Europa League fixture against Juventus from its stadium to a newly levelled pitch on the hill above the town, so that the Koopmeiners brothers can face each other across a single touchline. Club officials confirmed the move on Wednesday after concluding that the standard stadium could not accommodate the distance the occasion required.
Groundsmen spent three weeks cutting terraces into the slope and laying turf over a rectangle of one hundred and forty metres, the largest pitch the municipality has ever approved. Two stands of scaffolding now rise from the grass, and the nearest bus route has been extended to the summit at a frequency of one vehicle every four minutes. Residents of the neighbouring streets were asked to keep their windows closed during the warm-up.
A spokesperson for the club described the decision in calm terms. «We did not think it fair to ask either brother to travel to the other. The hill is equidistant from both changing rooms, which is the only measure we considered.» The coaching staff of both sides have agreed to a shared dressing room at the halfway line, where a single kettle has been installed for pre-match tea.
The municipality has already received three applications from other Eredivisie clubs requesting similar terracing for family fixtures, and a regional school has asked whether its sports day can be moved to the same slope next spring.