EC 2008 in Zurich - A Solution is on the Horizon

Nico Limmat · Nov 9, 2004

It seems like we've finally, finally found a solution to hold the 2008 Euro Cup in Zurich. Since the new football stadium is stuck in legal battles and won't be ready by 2008, the city of Zurich will push the re-building of the Letzigrund. The new Letzigrund will be used for concerts, athletic meetings, and amateur football. It could of course also be used to hold the 2008 games Zurich was supposed to hold...

RobtheAggie · Nov 10, 2004

Finally a resolution, not as nice as a new stadium, but workable. The FCZ fans must be laughing at the GCZ fans today.

Nico Limmat · Nov 11, 2004

RobtheAggie said:

The FCZ fans must be laughing at the GCZ fans today.
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Yes and No. The longterm future of FCZ doesn't lie in the Letzigrund, but also in the Zurich Stadium. Btw Rob, I think you misunderstood - the new Letzigrund is not a renovation but an entirely new stadium. Unfortunatly it's not as spectacular as the Stadion Zurich which would have been THE attraction in 2008 in my opinion...

This is not a done deal however. The stadium needs to pass a public vote next year and there can be no legal challenges whatsoever this time around.

Chelseablue · Nov 15, 2004

Can you if possible tell me how Marco Ambrosio has been doing so far this season?

Thanks

Up the Chels!

Nico Limmat · Nov 17, 2004

He's been consistent, but with our horrible defense this year he's been getting goal after goal...

Grasshoppers got him as a Peter Jehle replacement (due to injury.) I expect Ambrosio to leave in winter and Jehle taking back his spot.

Nico Limmat · Dec 3, 2004

Yes......

A mountain-sized concern just fell off my shoulder. The Swiss Supreme Court ruled in favor of the city of Zurich and investor Credit Suisse. It looks like the Zurich Stadium will be built after all. Unfortunately this decision is a bit too late for 2008. Sadly the stadium won't be the showcase ground of the Euro Cup. But the most important thing is that GC and FCZ now have a future home.

If the new Letzigrund passes the public vote, they will wait with the construction until the Letzigrund is finished for the EC 2008. FCZ would then move temporarily to the Hardturm during construction...

Nico Limmat · Jan 6, 2005

BREAKING NEWS:

Incredible news have just leaked to the press, it looks like the Zurich Stadium could now get done after all by 2008. After all the misery and sleepless nights on my behalf it seems that there is a solution on the horizon! How you ask? Well, Credit Suisse has re-assessed the situation after the Supreme Court ruling and came to the conclusion that it is still possible with the time frame available. It's not official yet, but it's looking very good...

Long lives the pentagon! Oh the joy...

Nico Limmat · Jan 7, 2005

Sigh...things don't look quite so good anymore in today's news.

Credit Suisse wants to build the stadium as quickly as possible but they still need to obtain the construction permit. That could take a while, especially since the construction permit could once again be battled in the courts.

Right now the new Letzigrund still has priority.

Zwingli · Jan 17, 2005

Since this is my first post let me first say hello to everybody in this forum.
I hope i`ll find the time to post here regularely .

As I was walking past the Hardturm-stadium today I saw how the posts indicating the height of the new stadium were being erected. So something is happening. The stadium will be pretty high, much higher than the old one.

I`m still fairly optimistic that the stadium will be ready for the euro 2008. According to an article in the Sonntagszeitung GC is pushing hard for the project as they think without the new stadium their very existence is in danger. Apparently they have the support of our mayor Ledergerber. The main sticking point seems to be the extra costs generated by the accelerated construction schedule. Let`s hope that a solution can be found.

IASocFan · Jan 17, 2005

Welcome to bs and thanks for the update.

Nico Limmat · Jan 17, 2005

Zwingli said:

Since this is my first post let me first say hello to everybody in this forum.
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Welcome to BS (how did you find your way here?)

I am very happy to hear that something is happening back home, but I won't feel at ease until the shovel hits the ground - too much has gone wrong in the past. I just hope we can quietly get the construction permit without any of the opponents getting the urge of once again burden our legal system with their narrow views. I don't think finding somebody to fund the extra 30-50 mio. for the acceleration cost will be that much of a problem, big business wants to get this stadium done.

Zwingli · Jan 18, 2005

SwissGCZ said:

Welcome to BS (how did you find your way here?)

Just by surfing aimlessly on the internet. Now I`m happy to be here.

I am very happy to hear that something is happening back home, but I won't feel at ease until the shovel hits the ground - too much has gone wrong in the past. I just hope we can quietly get the construction permit without any of the opponents getting the urge of once again burden our legal system with their narrow views. I don't think finding somebody to fund the extra 30-50 mio. for the acceleration cost will be that much of a problem, big business wants to get this stadium done.
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I agree, there are no reasons for excessiv optimism. Still, there`s some hope.
I think it`s just to easy to scupper big projects in our country, paricularly in Zurich. Sure, the legitimate interests of invironmentalists or neighbors should be taken into account. But one should strike a fair balance between the different interests. Right now, the opponents of a project know that if they enter into lengthy legal battles potential investors or tenants will lose interest and the whole thing will end up as a costly failure. Our judicial system needs to be reformed. It would also help our economy to recover after so many years of sluggish growth.

Nico Limmat · Jan 18, 2005

Zwingli said:

I think it`s just to easy to scupper big projects in our country, paricularly in Zurich. Sure, the legitimate interests of invironmentalists or neighbors should be taken into account. But one should strike a fair balance between the different interests. Right now, the opponents of a project know that if they enter into lengthy legal battles potential investors or tenants will lose interest and the whole thing will end up as a costly failure. Our judicial system needs to be reformed.
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I agree completely. It is fine that individual rights are protected so well in our country (from what I understand some residents' rights got trampled in Portugal for their EC stadiums) - but a line has to be drawn somewhere. There need to be clearer guidelines by authorities for investors of what is acceptable and what not, but most important of all, the legal process needs to be much faster. An investor should be able to know in less than a year if he can build something or not. Currently opponents can block projects for up to two years if they choose to.

On that note, I wonder how much uproar the new Maag Tower will cause.

At 126m it will be the tallest building in Switzerland (take that Basel)

Btw, you seem to be the first one who noticed the wooden posts. There is no word of it on the gc and fcz forums.

Zwingli · Jan 18, 2005

SwissGCZ said:

I agree completely. It is fine that individual rights are protected so well in our country (from what I understand some residents' rights got trampled in Portugal for their EC stadiums) - but a line has to be drawn somewhere. There need to be clearer guidelines by authorities for investors of what is acceptable and what not, but most important of all, the legal process needs to be much faster. An investor should be able to know in less than a year if he can build something or not. Currently opponents can block projects for up to two years if they choose to.

On that note, I wonder how much uproar the new Maag Tower will cause.

At 126m it will be the tallest building in Switzerland (take that Basel)
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I wonder wether I will see it finished in my lifetime. I´m sure a few people won`t be too happy about it. It looks nice though, definitely nicer than the Hardau towers near the main station.

SwissGCZ said:

Btw, you seem to be the first one who noticed the wooden posts. There is no word of it on the gc and fcz forums.
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I don`t think I was hallucinating. I even asked one of the construction workers what these poles are good for.

Nico Limmat · Jan 18, 2005

Zwingli said:

I don`t think I was hallucinating. I even asked one of the construction workers what these poles are good for.
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Good news, good news...

Zwingli · Jan 19, 2005

Hey GCZ, I had some time on my hand today and took a few pics of the poles (to be precise it`s a scaffolding with a pole planted on it).

Unfortunatly I have no idea how to insert a pic in my posts. Can somebody tell me how that works?

Nico Limmat · Jan 19, 2005

Zwingli said:

Hey GCZ, I had some time on my hand today and took a few pics of the poles (to be precise it`s a scaffolding with a pole planted on it).

Unfortunatly I have no idea how to insert a pic in my posts. Can somebody tell me how that works?
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Superb...

Do you have them uploaded on a website? (if not, put them on here: http://www.photobucket.com)

Zwingli · Jan 19, 2005

Thanks a lot.
Does that mean I´m not allowed to post pics here?

Anyway you will find them on photobucket, foldername is Franz335. I have to admit, I`m a lousy photographer and the pics aren`t all that great or interesting but they might give you some idea.

Nico Limmat · Jan 19, 2005

Zwingli said:

Thanks a lot.
Does that mean I´m not allowed to post pics here?
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No, no - now you can post them. Use the direct image url and put around it. Voila...

Allow me.

The rest can be seen here: http://photobucket.com/albums/v358/Franz335

Thanks a million Franz...

- Nathan

EnglishHoppersfan · Jan 26, 2005

It seems to be an ever-changing situation with the stadium! So is there are a concrete decision yet, we have to get that stadium!

It would be terrible if the Letzigrund got rebuilt instead of Hardturm, where would that leave GC? In a crumbling stadium or as tenants to the Dark Side??

Also, some people here in Scotland (who lost out for Euro 2008) have picked up on the uncertainty over Zurich Stadium and are starting to question whether Uefa awarded the tournament to the right bidder, which is a bit harsh because there are plenty of other stadiums ready. Still, I'm afraid you can't stop the conspiracy theorists who think that the influence of the home of Fifa and Uefa had a lot to do with the decision, although I hasten to add that I am definitely not one of these!

Nico Limmat · Jan 26, 2005

EnglishHoppersfan said:

It would be terrible if the Letzigrund got rebuilt instead of Hardturm, where would that leave GC? In a crumbling stadium or as tenants to the Dark Side??
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It does seem like some people at GC were concerned about the Letzigrund being built first (even though the plan was to always build both stadiums.) Since GC and Credit Suisse have always had a close relationship the rumor is that GC officials and Sepp Blatter convinced Credit Suisse to really push for the project now...

Also, some people here in Scotland (who lost out for Euro 2008) have picked up on the uncertainty over Zurich Stadium and are starting to question whether Uefa awarded the tournament to the right bidder, which is a bit harsh because there are plenty of other stadiums ready. Still, I'm afraid you can't stop the conspiracy theorists who think that the influence of the home of Fifa and Uefa had a lot to do with the decision, although I hasten to add that I am definitely not one of these!
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Haha...I understand the Scottish frustration, but that bid failed because of Ireland and their stadium troubles.

EnglishHoppersfan · Jan 26, 2005

SwissGCZ said:

It does seem like some people at GC were concerned about the Letzigrund being built first (even though the plan was to always build both stadiums.) Since GC and Credit Suisse have always had a close relationship the rumor is that GC officials and Sepp Blatter convinced Credit Suisse to really push for the project now...
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Good, let's hope that things can start moving on now so that the long-term future of CH's most successful club can be assured, Basel have left us in the dust since they opened their new stadium and we can't be having that!

Yes, the Irish seemed rather tepid about the whole 2008 bid, Scotland was thinking of going it alone for Euro 2012 but has wisely decided not to waste cash when Italy are also in the running and will instead plough money into youth football, something that is desperately needed. This Scottish team would struggle against FC Chiasso.

Nico Limmat · Jan 26, 2005

EnglishHoppersfan said:

Basel have left us in the dust since they opened their new stadium and we can't be having that!
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Yes, no doubt about that. There is still something positive about the situation though - we finally get to prove that we aren't a club full of bandwagon fans like the other teams always liked to claim. Dear Basel, enjoy the new reputation you've acquired...

Yes, the Irish seemed rather tepid about the whole 2008 bid, Scotland was thinking of going it alone for Euro 2012 but has wisely decided not to waste cash when Italy are also in the running and will instead plough money into youth football, something that is desperately needed. This Scottish team would struggle against FC Chiasso.
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Indeed. These are dark days for Scottish football.

EnglishHoppersfan · Jan 26, 2005

SwissGCZ said:

Yes, no doubt about that. There is still something positive about the situation though - we finally get to prove that we aren't a club full of bandwagon fans like the other teams always liked to claim. Dear Basel, enjoy the new reputation you've acquired...
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Who in particular claims that? I've always thought GC have had roughly the same size of support whether things are going well or poorly, the same loyal band showing up come rain or shine. I'd like to know what a lot of those 30,000 FCB fans were doing a decade ago when they were outside the top flight.

A lot of these jibes are water off a duck's back, I guess GC are seen as the epitome of the bourgeois Zurich elite and it's pretty obvious we're not going to win any popularity contests with the rest of the country. Still, jealousy is a terrible thing, and I suppose being the most successful team in the country comes at a price

Nico Limmat · Jan 26, 2005

EnglishHoppersfan said:

Who in particular claims that?
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Oh....just...about all the fans of every other team. Being the Bayern Munich of Switzerland will do that to you. I couldn't care less about it, but it's still nice to see a different team take all the abuse for a change.