Van Schaik: 'Perhaps the toughest match of my NEC career'

NEC director Van Schaik is in talks with multiple parties to finance a stadium expansion, buoyed by the club's improved financial position and growing investor confidence.

NEC general director Wilco van Schaik has outlined the club's plans to expand the Goffert Stadium, revealing he is in advanced discussions with multiple potential investors about financing the project.

Van Schaik described the effort as perhaps the toughest challenge of his NEC career, but emphasized the club's determination to proceed. He highlighted how NEC's financial transformation has changed perceptions: the club now generates as profit what it once earned as total revenue, and its equity has swung from minus €10 million to a substantial positive position.

Key to attracting new investors is the involvement of Marcel Boekhoorn and NEC's strong recent financial results. Van Schaik said potential backers—many of them long-time supporters wanting to give back—are now willing to engage in serious conversations about stadium financing. He credited years of hard work by the board and supervisory council for creating the conditions to move the club forward.