NEWS on Swiss Foootball League stadia

Geneva - soon hosting both Swiss and French 2nd Division?

Most probably next season, there will be an exceptional situation in European football. Professional teams from two different countries playing their home games in the same stadium.

Stade de Geneve in Lancy at the periphery of Geneva has opened in 2003 and was one of the eight venues of Euro 2008. It is home of the Swiss 2nd Division team and 17x champion Servette.

This weekend, the team Evian/Thonon/Gaillard from the French territory on Lake Geneva has reached the promotion to the 2nd Division of French football.

Their current home stadium is not eligible for the 2nd Division, so they would like to play in closeby Stade de Geneve. The stadium management and the French league seem to be positive about it. Of course, calendars of the two leagues need to be coordinated, but this should not be a major issue. The club Evian/Thonon/Gaillard has evolved from mergers of several teams from small French towns around Geneva and is co-owned by Zinedine Zidane, Bixente Lizarazu and Alain Boghossian.




Thun - construction of the new stadium has started

While the team has the opportunity to reach promotion to the 1st Division already this season, the construction for the new stadium has meanwhile started on schedule. The opening is predicted for next summer.




Luzern - Swisspor Arena under construction

The construction of the Swisspor Arena is already more advanced. Opening is scheduled for this winter, while the team is reaching for an Europa League spot this season.




Bellinzona - new site for the stadium project chosen

Current 1st Division team (currently fighting against relegation) has chosen a new site for its stadium project in Castione in the north of Bellinzona. The previous considered sites were in the south and in the center, respectively.




Schaffhausen - looking for partners

The new stadium in Schaffhausen has taken all the necessary legal and political steps. The stadium management is now working on finding commercial tenants and partners. If the search is successful, the construction can start.




Biel - successful vote for the 2nd time

Because of changes to the project, a 2nd public vote has been necessary. The population of Biel has been positive about the renewed version of the project, so the lights are on green for the new duplex-stadium (hockey/football). The project covers an area of 800 x 100 meters.




Zürich - security measures in Letzigrund

During the annual security check, tiny cracks have been discovered in the steal construction. As an immediate measure, the roof has been temporarily supported by columns in order to guarantee the security for the visitors and continue with the game calendar. An accurate analysis until summer will suggest the next steps. The renewal of the Letzigrund stadium with the new roof had been planned since the 90-ies, but was then implemented short-term in 2006 as a replacement for the planned Hardturm stadium for Euro 2008. The speedy and complex construction within one year with football games still being played in the old Letzigrund at the same time is mentioned by some rumours as a reason for possible construction mistakes. Home teams FC Zurich and Grasshopper-Club (who are tenants in the stadium) have reduced the price on their tickets and refund their season ticket holders for the partially worse view. They are pondering a regress on the owner (the city) once all the costs and opportunity costs are known.