EVZ Stadium is to be modified

The ice will be prepared in the OYM Hall starting on Monday, 28^th July. The initial interior work has been completed as planned – during which those responsible encountered unknown spaces.
 

The EVZ is facing a ‘transitional season’ – a term that sends shivers down the spines of many fans of the Zug men's ice hockey team. Memories are awakened of the dreary decade following the 1998 championship title win, when this expression was used every year to keep expectations low.

But a feeling of premature resignation is misplaced this year, however. The term in question does not refer to the sporting achievements, but to an expansion of the Zug ice stadium, which will now be called ‘OYM Hall’ from August onwards.

Work has been underway on the north side, towards the football stadium, for some time, where the road is being relocated to make room for the extension. Meanwhile, intensive construction work is also taking place under the canopy of the ice rink – on the south side. Olivier Huber, venue manager at EVZ, gave a routine tour of the construction site. Together with managing director Patrick Lengwiler, he represents the club in the construction process.

He explains: an extension will be built in the area where the public ice rink used to be. This will contain a large bar and the fan shop – both of which will be accessible during games – as well as the skate rental for the public ice rink. A terrace is also planned for the building. The extension is scheduled to be ready for occupancy next year, and will also serve as the main entrance to the OYM Hall, thereby giving it a representative character – ‘an Insta spot, so to speak,’ he adds.

The EVZ currently has many construction sites, in more than one sense.
Olivier Huber represents the EVZ in the construction process.       
The earth wall at the Hertiallmend football stadium has been removed so that the road can be relocated.
Work on the expansion of the Bossard Arena stadium has begun
The construction wall on the north side takes up more space than expected, resulting in the loss of 130 additional seats               
Some staircases are narrower, allowing the EVZ to install additional seats
Beer taps are planned for two cavities within the standing area                   Photos: Stefan Kaiser

Inspiration from a billion-dollar stadium
Together with other EVZ officials, Olivier Huber recently went on a fact-finding tour of several sports stadiums in Europe and overseas. The home of London football team Tottenham Hotspur made a big impression, explains Ibrahim Can, Head of Marketing and Sales at EVZ. ‘It covers all the needs – from high-end guests to ordinary fans.’

But the conditions there cannot be compared with those in Zug (‘The stadium in London cost a billion’), but they were inspired and have adapted some aspects to the local conditions. The magic words are “experience” and ‘hospitality’.

Sports companies nowadays want to offer their paying customers a ‘unique stadium experience.’ To put it more simply, it's a matter of generating as much revenue as possible through catering, without the sport taking too much of a back seat. Ibrahim Can aadds: ‘We want visitors to have a good evening – even if the team isn't doing so well.’

From the 2027/28 season onwards, EVZ will play in the expanded stadium with around 9,000 seats. This issue has been on the minds of Ibrahim Can and his team for a long time. Since the expansion plans were announced, his office has received numerous requests: for season tickets, for seat changes, for a switch from standing to seated areas, and much more. ‘We are in the process of defining a fair process, so that we can take as many requests as possible into account,’ he says.

The EVZ has had to immediately react to an unpleasant surprise: the preparatory work for raising the roof in the north section has taken up more space than expected, due to structural reasons. As a result, a further 130 of the existing seats have been lost.

Thanks to the creation of 500 additional seats last summer, however, Ibrahim Can is confident that ‘it should also be possible to relocate groups in most cases.’ In addition, some of the stairs in the lower seating tiers are now narrower, allowing for the installation of additional seats. The bottom line is that the stadium will be able to offer 7,450 seats in the coming season.

He is aware that he needs to be particularly sensitive when discussing reclassifications, as subscribers are creatures of habit and react allergically to any kind of change. But the reallocations will have little impact on the wallets of those affected – and if they do, then it will be positive: ‘Those who will find themselves sitting in a more expensive category will not have to pay the difference, of course. And those who will be sitting in a cheaper category will be refunded the difference by us.’ There are currently no plans for further reallocations. The interior work is now on hold, and the ice will be prepared in the OYM Hall from Monday onwards.

The toilet situation remains a vexing issue, as there are far too few of them. EVZ officials point to a promising future here as well. According to Olivier Huber, two spacious facilities are planned for all floors on the north side, similar to those found in NHL stadiums, and should be ready for occupancy in two years. ‘Until then, we’ll have to continue to put up with the queues,’ he says. This is likely to earn the EVZ its usual negative reactions.

The plans revealed a surprise.
The toilets are likely to be used even more frequently in the future: because there will now be two beer stands with four taps each for self-service within the standing area. "We discovered cavities in the stadium plans under the stairs to the upper tier, and we now want to make use of them," explains Olivier Huber.

Anyone hoping for free beer will be disappointed, however: the taps are pay-to-use and – not least because of age restrictions – can only be operated under supervision. ‘Self-service taps are a big hit at a Swedish club we visited,’ observed Ibrahim Can, ‘I'm curious to see how they will be received by our fans.’

One thing is already clear: if it turns out to be a transitional season for EVZ in sporting terms, the beer taps could provide a welcome distraction.