Expansion of the ice hockey stadium: the work begins

Immediately after receiving the building permit at the end of January 2025, the EVZ specified the construction plans and began the first preparatory work for the expansion at the beginning of May 2025. The focus in the first year of construction will be on the south volume, where a single-storey extension will be built that will, among other things, provide more spacious access to the arena. The first floor will also house the new Sportsbar 67, the fan store and the skate counter for free skating. A terrace will be created on the roof of the extension, which will be freely accessible during opening hours. On the second floor, a new restaurant for match operations will replace the current 67 Sixtyseven Sportsbar.

 

In parallel to the construction work in the south, various preparatory work is starting on the inside. In particular, the roof structure will be reinforced in preparation for the planned raising of the rear roof area in summer 2026. Work on the relocation of Weststrasse by the City of Zug also began at the start of May. All work will be planned and carried out in such a way that match operations can begin normally in the 2025/26 season. The first work on the larger north volume will begin in November, although the building construction can only be completed once the roof has been raised. Due to the complex work involved in raising the roof in summer 2026, the first home matches in the 2026/27 season will not be possible until mid-October. All construction work will be completed in late fall 2027 so that the opening of the expanded stadium can still take place in the 60th anniversary year of the EVZ.

 

Free ice skating will always be possible in winter. Together with the artificial ice rink, the EVZ will create a mobile winter landscape as early as November 2025, which will offer an ice rink, ice paths and various recreational and catering facilities.

The detailed project preparation for the expansion of the stadium has revealed that it will cost just under CHF 60 million. This higher total amount compared to previous cost estimates is due to additional needs and requirements for the interior fit-out, certain additional investments in connection with the building fabric and the addition of escalators to the north. In addition, the costs for laying the service pipes under Weststrasse must now also be borne by the EVZ. In addition, the construction period will be used to refurbish other areas not directly affected by the expansion or to replace a large part of the AV technology.

 

EVZ also made significant progress with regard to the financing of the stadium expansion. Following the 2nd reading on March 27, 2025, the Cantonal Council approved the granting of a repayable loan of CHF 35 million to the EVZ, subject to interest of 1.5%. Subject to the referendum deadline, this will become legally binding in June. EVZ will be able to cover most of the remaining amount from the current account, a sale of treasury shares and the reallocation of the naming rights for the stadium. Subject to the legal validity of the cantonal support, the financing of the entire investment is thus largely secured.

 

Patrick Lengwiler, CEO of EVZ, says: “We are delighted with the sustainable financing solution that makes the necessary expansion of the stadium possible. In particular, I see the loan from the Canton of Zug as a great vote of confidence in our organization. We are delighted that we can now start the construction work and look forward to soon being able to offer our fans and sponsors more space, more catering and entertainment options and many other new features. Zug and the EVZ will benefit.”

As part of the EVZ’s agreement with the City of Zug regarding the expansion of the stadium with a tenant fit-out model, the EVZ was granted the right to award the expiring naming partnership directly for the first time. The EVZ started the search for a future naming partner at the end of 2024 with a bidding process for interested companies, including the current partner Bossard AG. The latter withdrew from the process of its own volition and, as already communicated, will in future focus on its commitment as the EVZ’s main sponsor.

 

The selection criteria in the bidding process were: financial offer, contract duration, payment modalities to support pre-financing, as well as other voluntary elements to increase attractiveness. In the end, the bidding process resulted in a total of four excellent bids for the naming rights, which the EVZ is very proud of. One of these bids turned out to be the best: the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the EVZ, Dr. Hans-Peter Strebel, himself submitted a bid for the naming rights as a private individual. In addition to his bid for the naming rights, he has offered to convert the CHF 10 million loan granted in advance to finance the stadium expansion into an a-fonds-perdu grant for the EVZ. Hans-Peter Strebel thus acquires the naming rights as a private individual for the next 15 years – he has chosen the name “OYM hall” for the EVZ stadium.

 

Hans-Peter Strebel says: “By acquiring the naming rights, including waiving repayment of the loan, I want to lay the foundations for the EVZ to operate successfully in the long term. The increased investment costs for the expansion would have led to an additional heavy burden on the annual accounts. I have therefore decided to acquire the naming rights as a private individual. It is a one-off investment on my part for a unique expansion project that will bring a lot of joy. However, as I did not want the stadium to bear my name, I transferred this opportunity to OYM. OYM will benefit from the great brand presence of the new OYM hall.”

 

Up-to-date information on the “Keep Building” project can be found on the website www.keepbuilding.ch.