Another new story: all the answers to the eternal wait for the Zurich stadium

This week it was announced that the appeal marathon of the stadium opponents will continue as expected. The objections that were rejected by the construction appeal court in August will now be submitted to the next instance, this time the administrative judge. After that, you can also expect to go to federal court. Only then is the building permit valid – but it can then be challenged with all kinds of legal tricks, up to the federal court.

Actually not, unless legal dribbling is attempted after a possible acceptance. This initiative requires that no high-rise buildings be built near the banks of the Limmat or on the lake. This area along the Limmat is home to the two residential towers associated with the stadium project. The initiative committee states that the prevention of Hardturm is not the secret goal, but rather the general preservation of local recreational areas. The municipal council also assumes that the counter-proposal will not have any consequences for existing projects. FCZ chairman Ancillo Canepa: “I do not want to comment on the sense or nonsense of this initiative. So far: the stadium project should not be affected. You cannot change “the rules of the game” or the preconditions afterwards. There should be so much legal certainty, even in today’s times full of objections.” The voting date has been opened. This bank protection initiative has nothing to do with the banking initiative that will be voted on in the entire canton of Zurich on March 3, 2024 and which focuses on the shore of the lake.

Without objections, the excavators would have been at work for a long time, GC and the FCZ would probably play in the Hardturm next season from summer 2024. “Realistically, the stadium will not be ready for occupancy until 2029,” Canepa predicted a year ago. Now only 2030 is being talked about. Whether the building will be called the “Credit Suisse Arena” as previously planned remains completely open after the CS exit.

It’s actually crazy, but there are now adult FCZ and GC fans who weren’t even born yet when the first big blow for a new building struck. In 2004, despite winning the vote, it became clear that the planned 30,000-seat arena (“Pentagon”) could not be built in time for the 2008 European Championship due to appeals. The newly built Letzigrund could then be used for the European Championship, where GC has also been playing since then due to the demolition of the Hardturm.

The city went to the polls no fewer than four times because of a new Hardtum building. 2003: Yes to the city’s financial participation in the large pentagonal European Championship stadium. 2013: No to a municipal stadium project. 2018: Yes to the ‘Ensemble’ project with an 18,000-seat stadium and residential towers. 2020: Yes to the Hardturm draft plan.

From 2009, the ZSC Lions were looking for a location for a new stadium and found it on a land development in Zürich-Altstetten, just two kilometers from the Hardturm. In 2016, voters said yes to the city loan, construction began in 2019 and play began in 2022. Without appeals and theater – why? There is no clear reason. But there are no direct residents at ZSC. It can be heard that the hockey players always seemed modest to all parties involved, while the football players were sometimes experienced as demanding. And football does not exactly have the best reputation among many sections of the population because of the fan problem and the excessive money abroad.