How to build new ice hockey rinks in Sierre and Bern

A look at the planned stadium.Project image: valais-arena.ch

Of course, an arena project of this magnitude has been the main talking point among the raclette and white wines for months. So this is a public matter with entertainment value. The opposition is led by a group led by Patrick Briguet (“le groupe citoyen”) and explicitly describes the project as a “Projet Titanesque”.

But supporters are right to push back. Planners just unveiled Briguet's application to actively participate in the project on March 18:

McSorley put it bluntly: “Now that we have given up on working with Mr. Bliguet and providing him with a profitable, prestigious 'Pösteli,' he is now turning against us.” So pithy political drama.

situation in bern

There's certainly going to be some good political drama surrounding the hockey temple in Bern. But here, everything is ready behind locked and barricaded office doors. The reason is obvious: In Schell, it's private investors who work with the city to push projects forward, and can do whatever they want. However, in Bern, the owner of the PostFinance Arena is a multi-billion dollar company: “Swiss Prime Sites”, founded in 1999, is Switzerland's largest listed real estate company, with a market value of approximately 8 billion Swiss francs.

Bern's postfinance arena is aging.Image: trapezoid

The company holds real estate worth CHF 13 billion and manages properties worth CHF 26 billion. These include the 126-meter-tall Prime Tower in Zurich West, the tallest office building in Switzerland. Financing even more than 100 million francs for a brand new stadium should not be a problem.

Even SCB General Marc Lüthi swallowed such figures empty-handed. He said: “Any information about our stadium project will affect the value of the stock.” Therefore, strict confidentiality is required. He's right, he's right: any dissemination of information could raise suspicions of insider trading. “That's why I can't give a timetable,” Luti said. Experts don’t expect a new hockey temple to emerge before the fall of 2030.

It is unclear whether there will be a complete renovation or a new building, and the question of whether ice hockey group SCB (with annual sales of about 60 million francs) will become a co-owner of the new venue is also sensitive.

At least Mark Luti had some words of comfort for fans: “The new stadium will also have a standing ramp.” The only thing that remains unclear is how big that ramp will be. The current standing ramp has approximately 10,000 seats, making it the largest in hockey.

• 7

  A leader who can decide games and make his team better on and off the ice.

• 6-7

  A talented player who can decide a game on a good night and is a leader.

• 5-6

  A good NL player: usually a rainbow butterfly of talent, sometimes a serious worker who brings out a lot of talent.

• 4-5

  Players on the third or fourth block, veterans or newcomers.

• 3-4

  The future is still ahead of you, or the future is already behind you.

• The rating is based on the North American Hockey Grading Scale, ranging from 1 (lowest) to 7 (highest). There are no levels below level 3 because those who play in the top leagues are at least barely adequate.