‘A milestone’ – the stadium roof is taking shape!

For the past five years, engineers, architects, construction workers and the entire EVZ team have been working towards this moment: the raising of the stadium roof.

On Thursday afternoon, 16 July, the time will finally have come. After the stadium roof had been cut in the middle and stabilised with scaffolding, it was raised by exactly 4.08 metres within four hours using special hydraulic presses. A total of 520 tonnes were lifted.

Originally, the roof raising was planned for the end of July and was to take place over several days. “But when things go well, they really go well,” said Olivier Huber, Head of Infrastructure at the EVZ, who is in charge of the project. “We’re delighted that everything went so smoothly. Raising the roof is a milestone for Keep Building and a special moment. Many people have been working on this key project for years. My thanks go to everyone involved in this project.”

Jürg Ingold is also delighted. The civil engineer from Wismer+Partner AG spent years calculating the structural analysis and meticulously preparing the roof raising: “Every building has its own characteristics, and in practice everything is a little different from theory. I’m very happy that everything went so well yesterday!” The roof-raising operation was carried out by a 20-strong team from Iten Spezialhochbau, led by Kurt Brühlhart: “The biggest challenge was raising the roof on just one side. It was a special moment.”

With the roof lift now complete, the EVZ remains fully on track with the extension of the OYM hall, which is being carried out under the project name ‘Keep Building’. The arena will remain closed until the end of October due to the construction work. The main focus in the summer of 2026 will be on the south extension. Sportsbar 67 will be rebuilt on the ground floor to be larger and more spacious. A new, spacious EVZ Fan Store is also being built on the ground floor. On the first floor on the south side, work is also underway on the new Tugium restaurant. Sportsbar 67, the Fan Store and Tugium will then be open for the start of the 2026/27 season.

On Friday 23 October, the first NL home match against Lausanne HC will take place. The women’s team will play the following day. The ‘Keep Building’ project will be completed in autumn 2027. By then, the OYM hall will be gleaming in a completely refurbished state and with a new capacity of around 9,000 spectators.