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Chances are bad that Zurich will soon receive a real football stadium. This is due to the many opponents of the current project, a strange fallow-romance – and overly flexible supporters.
The word fallow comes from agriculture. This refers to an unordered field, an unproductive area. In the Middle Ages, the peasant did not like fallow land; he could not harvest anything. It was a necessary evil at the time of the three-field economy to prepare the soil for later use. Talking about the prosperity of today 's fallow society, often does so with a romantic voice. Empty spaces, deprived of their primary purpose, promise a last piece of freedom and anarchy in the well-organized urban landscape, especially in urban areas. On the fallow land: "Do it yourself", everything is possible
(Illustration: Peter Gut)
This fallow romance is currently on display in the city of Zurich Fallow Stadium. Ten years ago, the Hardturm football stadium in Zurich West was demolished. Due to the construction of a new house for the FCZ and GC clubs in Zurich, a microcosm of various uses has developed on the plot of 55, 000 square meters.
The members of an association plant eggplant, fennel and onions in flower beds, Once a week, there is a common lunch with a collection. Every Saturday, a cooperative bakes bread in large ovens. About 50,000 people are expected to use this space each year for urban gardening, outdoor cooking, sports, recreation and culture. On weekends, the festival "Lüchturm" is on the program, a non-profit festival, "free of trade", as indicated by the invitation.
The plans of the city and private investors do not want to integrate into this healthy and decommercialized world. erect a football stadium for 18,000 spectators, a cooperative of 175 apartments and two skyscrapers with 600 apartments on the site. Even though it was clear to everyone since the beginning that a stadium had to be built here. Credit Suisse sold the city's land in 2009 for this purpose. Fallowing friends do not want to accept that – and they have found many volunteers and involuntary allies in recent weeks and months. Thus, a movement has emerged that opposes development on the site. Intermediate use, once clearly declared, threatens to become a permanent state. Jump to the place of prosperity: the peasant of the Middle Ages shook his head
The SP as a false savior
At first, it did not look too bad. In 2016, the city and construction company HRS unveiled their plans under the title "Together". There was talk in the press of a balanced release or compromise; Political parties also reacted positively with caution. Investors – HRS and CS investment foundations – agreed to pay the costs of CHF 105 million for the stadium. For this, they were promised the two skyscrapers with apartments "in the middle price segment" as a yield object. The cooperative estate, carried out by ABZ, also guarantees an affordable living space for about 500 people.
With this cautious project, the developers hope that the curse that seems to be in the Hardturm area should finally be defeated. As a reminder, two attempts to build a real football stadium in Zurich have failed in recent years. In the first – the impressive "Pentagon" designed by Zurich architects Meili / Peter – the owner CS is thrown from his mouth after lengthy legal wrangling. In the second round, the voters vetoed them: at 50.8%, she said no to a project funded by the tax. "Together" is the result of an exhausting process that is now supposed to satisfy all parties to a certain extent.
But over time, this attempt also raised doubts and former supporters became opponents. Most impressive, the SP has rocked. This is shown by the "Smartvote" questionnaire, which 42 of the current 43 parliamentarians from the SP had completed before the March 4 elections. Eight of them said that they would give their full support to the stadium project – co-chair Marco Denoth among them -, 22 said "rather yes". Eight spoke rather against the plans of the city council, only four clearly rejected them. The question was clear: "The current plan for the new football stadium on the Hardturm site provides for two high-rise buildings, each 137 meters high," the statement said. "Do you approve this project?"
There is more now than a handful of SP advisors for "all together," said former co-chair Gabriela Rothenfluh recently in the NZZ. How can such a fundamental change of opinion occur in such a short time? The Social Democrats have given various explanations. With an adventurous bill, they wanted to prove that the city would be financially better off with a cooperative colony than with the two residential HRS towers. The green finance chief Daniel Leupi spoke in the episode of "Luftikus calculations", which gave a false picture.
Then, the SP tried to push Black Peter to a Höngg Ward committee. This decided to proceed against the two residential towers, each with a height of 137 meters by legal means – if necessary, up to the federal court. The SP wanted to save the two football clubs FCZ and GC in this difficult way. She sees herself as a true savior of the stadium – even if she does exactly the opposite with her actions.
The city's plans and private investors do not want to integrate into this healthy and unmarketed world to build a football stadium on the site.
The Hardturm project will be negotiated on Wednesday night in the parliament of the city of Zurich. Even if, next to the SP, the Greens and AL will hit critical tones, a small majority is likely to come. This was announced by the PS in a politico-democratic way: it will "provide votes" to allow a referendum, the party announced in advance. Are the parliamentarians today simply vocal cows, who can be arbitrarily pushed back and forth according to the strategy of the party leadership? After all, in the city's municipal code is clearly stated: "City council members vote without instructions."
The SP's behavior shows how much the original issue of a football stadium is now politically loaded. The stadium alone is no longer there. The "Hard Tower" deals with the major issues currently occupying Zurich: the so-called housing shortage, urban development, compression, open spaces. Each group brings its special interests: the SP their election promise to use more affordable apartments, the guards of the stadium cast their envy of green spaces in the neighborhood, the Höngger Committee is concerned about tall buildings to this moment.
] With so many opponents, it will be very difficult to win a referendum. Presumably in November, the decisive vote will be taken on the granting of construction rights and the accounting transfer of land to administrative assets. City council, investors and football clubs need to use the little time to create momentum. It will not be easy
In September 2003, when the Zurichers said yes to the design plan and financial participation in the "Pentagon" stadium with about 60%, the European Football Championship in Switzerland was on our doorstep. There was some euphoria in the air. It's different nowadays. If we talk about Zurich football in public, it's more because of the violence of hooligans than the good performance on the ground. GC and FCZ play midfield. From the end of the World Cup in Russia, from the Swiss point of view, the two-headed eagle will remain mostly in an ambiguous memory.
Stadium supporters will have to find the right answers to urgent questions quickly. They should therefore explain as soon as possible what should happen at the Letzigrund stadium on the other side of the railway, if FCZ and GC move away in the future. With four outdoor concerts and one athletics meeting a year, this arena would be far from exhausted. Clubs should also disclose their books and clearly explain why for them and for the public, a compact cauldron is much more logical than the current situation. It would also be necessary to highlight the major integrative achievements that football clubs make in the promotion of young talents. Clarifications are also needed in the legal field, for example on the question of the shadow of the two residential towers and their urban classification.
For its part, the city should take seriously the partially legitimate criticism of fallow lovers. and allows more creativity and true freedom. In addition, the building department should speak a word of power and say how it wants to push the much needed compaction in the city. Where, if it is not in Zurich West, do the big towers make sense? Funding must also be addressed, even if Zurich is doing well: the construction and operation of a football stadium is not under the control of the state. The path taken by private investors is good, also because of history without history.
The current stage project has many advantages, but these are currently overwhelmed by the torrent of individual opinions. There is a risk that the many special interests undermine this attempt at a real football stadium in West Zurich. Falconry romantics and their assistants should not rejoice too soon. If no stadium is built on the Hardturm site until 2035, Credit Suisse will exercise its right of redemption. What she does next with the country depends on her. One thing is certain: the big bank will not aim for a "free space without advertising".
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